The Secret Life of Sarah Walker
by Sunflower90
Summary: Sarah has a secret that she has been hiding from Chuck, but it won't be a secret for long. AU
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: No, silly readers, I don't own Chuck or Starbucks.

A/N: This is me trying something new, an AU story that will hopefully be long-ish. Please give me some helpful feedback because I don't really know what I'm doing.

Once every year Sarah received a letter in the mail from San Diego. She received the letter on the same day, April 17th, every year. Chuck knew nothing of these letters. They were Sarah's little secret, although he never knew that they were probably the biggest secret she was keeping from him.

When the letter arrived this year, Sarah was not at all shocked. She slipped the little envelope from the stack of mail before Chuck could ever see it and stuck it in her purse.

"Chuck, honey, I'm going to Starbucks for some quiet time. See you later."

He waved goodbye as she sped off in her Porche. It didn't matter how many times she got the letters, she still had to fight back tears when she even thought about opening them. Her past would always be a sore spot for her, especially this part of her past.

When Sarah arrived at the coffee shop she ordered herself an iced venti chai and got a table in the back corner. Taking a deep breath, Sarah gingerly opened up the envelope.

Something wasn't right. The handwriting was different. This couldn't be good.

The letter read:

_Dear Sarah,_

_ We don't know how to tell you this, but she's escaped. She's coming for you. Please prepare yourself. We wish we could have done something to save you the pain I'm sure you're about to feel. Don't run. You know better than us that she will find you if she wants to. She's smart._

_Blessings,_

_Cara and Dan_

'Oh my God', thought Sarah. 'How did she find out where I live? This is going to ruin my life. Now that I have everything I want it is all going to come crashing down. How am I going to prepare Chuck, tell him about the mistakes I have made in my life.'

Sarah ran as fast as she could out of the Starbucks, rushing home to Chuck. What if she was already here? This couldn't be good. The girl was angry and most likely dangerous. All Sarah wanted to do at that moment was go back to 1996 and undo this problem. But she couldn't, and her problems and her past were coming here to L.A. right now to find her.

When Sarah looked back on the summer after her sophomore year in high school she was mostly sad. She had just moved to San Diego with her dad and away from "the cutest boy in the whole world, who I could probably marry someday" which had "totally ruined my life, ugh." But she was adjusting to the new city. She was still going out on cons with her dad as her gawky teenage appearance sort of camouflaged her into the scenery. That was the summer they did the San Diego Comic Con con, or the SDCCC as Sarah liked to call it, although she was Jenny back in those days. The SDCCC brought back some mixed emotions for Sarah. It had been a strange experience seeing all those freaks in weird outfits. She had to admit, she liked comics, mostly for the artistry. Sarah got to meet Jim Mooney, one of her idols, who inked the Supergirl comics among other things.

Jim Mooney wasn't the most important person she met there though. There she met "her first", a guy she only knew by his superhero name, CC. At one point during the con she got completely lost and was then trampled by a stampede of Trekkies. CC scooped her up, with some struggle, and pulled her out of the madness. They spent the rest of the weekend together, and right before he left they made love in the back of his beat up car.

She had to forget about those happy times though because she had to preserve the happiest thing that had happened to her since that day, Chuck. The girl was coming for Sarah and Sarah's spy instincts told her that she might do some serious damage to Chuck as well if he got in the way.

Sarah haphazardly pulled into the closest parking spot she could find, ripped off her seat belt, and shot out of the car headed for the front door.

When she banged through the front door of the apartment she shared with Chuck, he was just sitting on the couch watching the TV. He was fine. The world had not come crashing in around him.

Chuck stared at his girlfriend, who was panting and had a crazy look in her eye.

"Hey, sweetie, that was fast. Why do you look crazy?" Chuck was always honest.

Sarah took a deep breath and went to sit next to Chuck, who scooted over to accommodate her.

"Chuck, there are some things I never told you about my life. You haven't really asked, which I appreciate because there are some things that if I told you I would have to kill you, but there are some things that it may be important for you to know."

Sarah was kind of babbling and Chuck didn't really understand what she was saying, but he nodded and encouraged her to continue.

"My past before the CIA is very complicated. You know my dad was/ is a con man. You know where I went to high school. What you don't know is what happened to me the summer after my sophomore year, the summer I moved to San Diego, the summer I turned 16."

Chuck was silent. He knew saying anything at this point would just spook her. He had to stay very still and wait for her to share. There was nothing that could prepare him for what she was about to say.

Sarah turned to face Chuck. She held both of his hands and looked him straight in the eyes.

"Chuck, that was the summer I lost my virginity. It was also the summer I got pregnant with my daughter."

Chuck dropped her hands, mouth agape. Sarah continued.

"I wanted to tell you this because she found out where I live and is coming here, now."

A/N: What did you think? Original, not original? Lame? Please review, let me know what you think. Lay it on me people.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Wow, a number of very sweet people reviewed which is why I am updating so fast. You guys were really nice and now I want to keep going and writing this pretty little story for you. The big chunk in italics is a flash back.

Disclaimer: Me no own Chuck or 16 and Pregnant.

"YOU WHAT!" Chuck practically screamed at Sarah. He didn't quite understand how she had always told him he could tell her anything, that honesty was key in any relationship. Now he finds out that she has been hiding this huge secret.

"How, what, how long have you known about this?" His confusion was pretty evident at this point.

"Are you asking how long I have known I've had a daughter or how long I have known she is coming here?" Sarah asked trying to lighten the mood.

"Both," Chuck responded with indignation.

"Well, I have known about her coming here since I arrived at the Starbucks about seven minutes ago, but I have know that I have had a daughter for 14 years. Chuck I didn't know how to tell you. Please, don't hate me," Sarah explained practically in tears.

"I could never hate you. But you always talk about trusting one another, about honesty and how important it is for us. Now I find out that you have been keeping this secret from me. How could you do this to me, to us?"

"I thought this was behind me. This is part of my past. I mean, I was so young when she was born, I was only 16. I never thought she would find me or ever want to come see me."

"And here she is about to show up. What am I supposed to say to this kid? I don't know anything about your past, so what can I say?"

"Ask me what you want to ask me, Chuck. I know what you really want to ask me. You want to know how I was so stupid that I could get pregnant just before my 16th birthday."

"Sarah, I... would never phrase it like that. But seriously, how did you become an episode of _16 and Pregnant_? You just seem to smart for that."

Sarah took a deep breath and paused to reflect back on that night.

"Have you ever had that experience of love at first sight? You know, like when your heart stops and your stomach flips. You feel like you're going to die, throw up, and fly away on a cloud all at the same time."

"Of course I have. When I met you," Chuck replied, taking Sarah's hand and gently rubbing his thumb over the top of it. He knew this was going to be hard for her and realized that he had not been all that supportive up to this point.

"That's what happened when I met him, my first love, the father of my baby."

They met at the con. She stood there staring into his eyes and he into hers.

_"Hey," he said. His voice was shaky, not at all what she thought it would be seeing as he had just rescued her._

_ "Thanks for that," she replied barely able to get any words out herself. She was still a little scared, maybe from nearly being trampled or maybe it was from how weird she was feeling. She didn't know what to do, but she knew she wanted to get to know him better. _

_ "You wanna get out of here? I know this great spot on the beach. I go there every day." She was worried he would say no. He was wearing a mask, but she could tell he was cute, and he had a great smile._

_ He couldn't believe that a girl this pretty was talking to him. Sure, it was an offbeat beauty, but her eyes sparkled and she had long brown hair which he loved. It was then that he had been just staring at her for a full 30 seconds and she had a worried look on her face._

_ "Oh, yeah, sure, definitely. Let's go." He grabbed her hand and led her to the exit._

_ As soon as he touched her, they both felt the electricity shoot through their bodies. It was as if they had been struck by lightning. They gasped, looked down at their hands, and paused. When they looked back up at each other, they knew that this thing between them was something special that would change their lives._

_ They agreed to meet every day at the same time in the same place on the beach, their place. They would just talk about everything and nothing, never sharing names or other identifying things. The boy never took off his costume, which she thought was adorable. They felt safe with each other, and they knew that they were falling in love, each of them for the first time._

_ On the last day, they didn't know what to do. She cried and he held her. They both knew this was goodbye, but it was hard to let go of something you wanted so much. It was an unusually chilly day, so they sat in the back of his car to have their farewell talk._

_ "I love you, but I have to go. I'm a kid. I have a family, responsibilities at home," he said, knowing that his words wouldn't be good enough._

_ "I love you, too, which is why I can't let you go. Please stay, just till the end of the summer," she begged, knowing full well that this relationship would always have an expiration date._

_ Then he kissed her with more passion than he thought he possessed. Before she knew it, he was on top of her, and she was taking her shirt off. She didn't know what she was doing and neither did he. All they knew was that they wanted this. Things continued to get more and more heated in the backseat of his car. That evening, they both lost their virginity. What neither of them thought of at the time was using any sort of protection. They were emotional and passionate and good sense was no where to be found. They held each other then, but she knew she had to go. So she got herself together and left her first love behind._

_ Little did she know that he would always be a part of her in the form of her daughter who was born nine months later._

Chuck just stared at Sarah.

"Chuck, please say something. I mean, I really just poured my heart out here. I've never told anyone that story."

"Sarah, this is super important. What was this guy's name?"

"I told you, I never knew his name. We never shared names. I only know that his costume said CC on it," Sarah stated bluntly while Chuck's mouth opened wider than she thought it could.

"Sarah, I'm CC, Charles Carmichael. That was me. I'm the father of your baby."

A/N: Dun, dun, dun. Some of you had already guessed it, so good for you. I know you have questions, but they will surely be answered. Review away people, and you will get more chapters out of me.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: To those of you who have reviewed= you are the best, you are my friends, and you are the sweetest people I have never met. To the rest of you= at least you are reading this silliness, which I thoroughly appreciate. To everyone= yes, this story is going somewhere.

Disclaimer: Now I don't own Chuck or Lord of the Rings.

It was now Sarah's turn to just sit there and stare Chuck in the face.

"What do you mean you're the father of my baby? How is that even possible? How do you know? What are you saying? What is going on here?" Sarah couldn't stop asking questions.

"I'll start with questions one: I mean that I impregnated you when you were almost 16 years old and you birthed a child with half your DNA and half my DNA. Question two: I'm not going to give you a birds and the bees talk here, but I remember that night and I don't think I ever even thought about protection. I mean, I was almost 16 myself and a huge nerd. I never thought I would have sex. Question 3..."

"Chuck, you need to stop trying to be cute right now and..."

Chuck placed his hand over Sarah's mouth.

"Please let me finish here. Questions 3: I know because I was there. It was a pretty memorable night, you know. I lost my virginity, too. Question 4: I'm saying that we met, I guess, when we were teenagers. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around all of this myself. Trust me, I'm freaking out inside. I'm sure it will all spill out soon. Question 5: What's going on is that our daughter... HOLY CRAP! We have a child together, Sarah. I think I'm going to pass out."

Chuck put his hand to his head and fell back on the couch. Sarah just looked at him, trying to figure all of this out.

"How did we never know it was each other? I don't really remember what the guy looked like, what you looked like I guess. I remember he/ you wore some silly costume the whole time, like with a mask and everything, which I thought was strange but endearing. You would think I would at least remember your smile, your hair, your eyes, something."

"I guess I could explain away all of those things. I was still wearing braces at that point so when I did smile with teeth, which I hated to do, it looked really strange. The hair you wouldn't have recognized because I had decided to cut it all off. I thought it made me look cooler. It didn't. You probably don't recognize my eyes because I wore glasses back then. I have since gotten LASIK, thanks to Ellie. Oh gosh, Ellie. She is going to lose it. But, wait. Why don't I recognize you?"

"I had my hair dyed brown from the con job we were doing right before we came to San Diego. My natural color is like a dirty blonde. And I hadn't actually gotten my braces on then so I just had really bad teeth. I didn't even look the same as my senior yearbook picture, the one you saw at my reunion."

"I guess that explains everything. I just can't... this seems like too much right now. There are no words for what I'm feeling. I don't even know what I'm feeling. What do you feel, Sarah?"

Sarah didn't know what she felt right now. She knew that she had to tell Chuck about their, wow still weird, little girl. She felt horrible now. Not only had she been lying to her boyfriend, the love of her life, but she was keeping the father of her baby from knowing he even was the father of her baby. Who knew that this thing that she had been keeping from him was so much bigger than she thought it was? She couldn't be blamed for something like that, but it didn't stop her from feeling horrible.

"Chuck, I feel like I should have told you this a long time ago. I wish I had known who you were back then. I wish I had told you when I first got here. I wish I had told you when we became friends, or when we started dating."

"Which time?" he asked with a huge Bartowski grin.

"Not cute, not now. Every time. I wish I had told you this final time most of all because there was supposed to be nothing keeping us apart. I want to tell you everything about her though."

"You know things about her? How?"

"Every year on her birthday, she sends me a letter. At first the letters were from her adoptive parents giving me an update. But then they told her about me and she started writing me. She asked me to come visit or if she could visit me. I never wrote her back, but she always asked me to. She wanted to know me, but I never wanted to know her. She was a mistake. Something else that went wrong in my life. When she turned ten I wrote her parents asking them to tell her to stop writing me, that I was done being any part of her life. It had just gotten too hard. I was going on missions all the time, and if I got that letter while I was away, it was just too much. She didn't stop."

Sarah had to pause. She was getting misty eyed. Maybe this was still too much for her. She knew that she had Chuck to support her, but maybe she wasn't emotionally ready for her daughter to arrive.

"What's her name?" Chuck asked quietly while rubbing Sarah's back.

She looked up at him.

"Her adoptive parents let me name her, and they did actually keep the name. Her name is Arwen Rain. I really like the _Lord of the Rings_ books... and rain," she giggled with tears still in her eyes.

Chuck smiled at her, hand still on her back protectively. She was so strong. He can't imagine how difficult it had to be for her to be a pregnant teenager and then having to give up her child. He never could have done something like that.

"That is a beautiful name. Also, nice nod to the nerdy side of her DNA. Did you know that Arwen meant 'noble maiden'? Suck a strong name for a girl. What else do you know about her? I mean, she is going to be here in the very near future, so some conversation starters might be good."

Sarah loved how Chuck could lighten the mood in even the most difficult situation. She wished he had been there for everything. He would have dealt with it all so much better than she had. And she would have had someone to talk to. That would have been nice.

"No, I didn't know what Arwen meant, you nerd. Let me think. She plays soccer. Yeah, she's really good at that, but she also does gymnastics. I think she likes soccer more. Her parents made her take piano lessons since she was five years old. She hates that, but still does it because it makes her parents happy. She does well in school, really well. Sometimes she would send me a copy of her report card. I can tell she's smart because of the way she has been writing since she was even very little. She's a lot like I was when I was younger. Well rounded and driven, tough. She apparently likes to get in fights at school. Some evil little brats pick on her for being adopted. Jerks," Sarah mumbled, shaking her head.

Chuck couldn't believe what he was hearing from Sarah. She had said that she didn't want to know this little girl, but the way she was talking right now was showing something different.

"You realize you're sticking up for her, right? And you talk about her like she is the daughter that you raised. You love her, Sarah, don't you?"

Sarah didn't know what to say. She didn't know if she loved Arwen. All she did was hold her inside of her for nine months, push her out, and give her away. How could she love someone she didn't know? She was sure they had some sort of spiritual connection, but she didn't know if they could ever be a real family. There was so much damage that she had done. Repairing it was going to be a real bitch.

"I don't know, Chuck. She's a part of me, but I don't really know her. Time will tell."

And it would because at that moment the doorbell rang and there was a loud rapping at the door. Chuck grabbed Sarah's hand.

"You can do this. Are you ready?" he asked.

"You're a part of this, too, you know. So I'm ready. You?"

He nodded. They stood up together and walked to the door. Sarah opened it to reveal a relatively tall teenage girl with long blonde hair and brown eyes.

"You must be Arwen," Sarah said.

"And you must be the bitch who never wanted me," Arwen shot back.

A/N: I think that is enough cliff hangers for this story, maybe. I might do one more. Then it will just be family stuff. Tell me what you think? Is it getting better, worse, boring?


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to Yvonne Strahovski because it is her birthday (although I'm not sure when this will show up on the site or what time zone you are in). Anyway, happy birthday Yvonne!

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Chuck was standing back behind Sarah when she opened the door to find their teenage daughter, their seething mad teenage daughter, standing on their welcome mat. He was frightened, to be sure, but mostly he was intrigued. She was almost the spitting image of her mother. She had pretty long blonde hair, the same body, and "I'm going to kill you" face. He had to stop himself from smiling at how beautiful she was because here she was looking like she wanted to kill Sarah. He didn't want her to kill Sarah.

Arwen pushed past Sarah into the apartment.

"Okay, come in Arwen. I understand you're upset but..." Sarah began.

"You don't understand. How could you? You were never just given up as a baby. You're mother never said she didn't want you in her life. I'm sure you know who your father is. All I want to do right now is kick your ass," Arwen retorted.

"Haha. First off, little girl, there is no need for that kind of language. I may not have raised you, but I am still your mother and you cannot speak to me like that. Second of all, there is no way you could best me in any type of combat. Don't even try."

"Ladies, ladies," Chuck broke in, "let's stop talking about fighting. We need to use our words. I'm sure you could both beat me in any type of combat. I'm taking my chances here. Arwen, you are on your way to being a young adult, so please act like one. Deep breaths, girls, and we can sort this whole mess out."

"Chuck, you sound like an idiot. If this girl wants a fight, I'll fight her," Sarah said putting her fists up.

"Sarah, calm down. You are not going to hit your own daughter... are you?" Chuck sounded worried. He really hoped Sarah wouldn't try to go all ninja on their daughter right here in their living room.

"Who is this dude? He is such a pussy!" Arwen spat.

"All right, that is enough of the language. And I am not... that thing you called me. As for who I am, it might be a little complex for me to explain. So if we could all just sit and talk..." Chuck began but was quickly interrupted.

"I'm not going to talk to her," Arwen said.

"Then why did you come?" Chuck asked.

"I thought I wanted to, but now I just am so angry that I don't want to. Not right now."

"Well, I don't want to talk to you either. I had this great idea that we could try and work things out. Looks like that's just gone to... heck," Sarah respond.

"How about I talk to both of you. You don't have to talk to each other, just to me. That all right?" Chuck questioned.

"Yeah," both ladies said at the same time.

Arwen sat on a chair off to the left side of the couch while Sarah sat on Chuck's right on the couch. Arwen was furious at her birth mother right now. Truthfully she didn't know what she wanted out of coming here. She just thought it was time. It was like she had this breakthrough, an awakening of sorts. She wanted to know who she really was, and talking to her mother was a part of that. Arwen's friends and family thought that she was a little young to be having this sort of identity crisis and mental clarity at just 14 years of age, but she was always a little bit ahead of the game. She had matured a lot faster than the rest of the girls in her class, and sometimes she got teased for that. Boys didn't tease her for it, of course. They appreciated it, especially the older boys. She used her good looks and hidden charm to get things she wanted, like money or rides, from the high school boys. Her parents told her it was wrong and dangerous, but she didn't see it that way. Just little smiles here and there, a flip of the hair and she could buy a new pair of earrings from Claire's after getting a ride to the mall. Deception came easily for her. Her parents never seemed to understand that about her. She could take care of herself.

Arwen could see where she got her good looks from. While her birth mother was an evil bitch, she was pretty. Not so much pretty as strikingly gorgeous and a more grown up version of Arwen. They had the same expressions, even, which freaked her out a little bit. Everything was so similar. Except for the eyes. Sarah had blue eyes and Arwen's were brown, like the color of that Chuck dude's. This was very curious, she thought.

"Alright, ladies," Chuck began, "I want to start by wishing little Arwen here a happy birthday. You are 14 today, right?"

"Uh, yeah, 14. So I'm not little."

"Very good. No, you're not little. You're actually kind of tall and lanky just like I... uh, never mind. What brings you here, Arwen?"

"I wanted to meet Sarah. I've been writing her letters basically since I could write, but she has never responded. I have always known I was adopted. It would have been pretty easy for my parents to lie to me, but they never did. They are good people. They love me, unlike some people," she seethed.

"Sarah, do you love Arwen?"

"Chuck, we already talked about this. She's a part of who I am. If I had never had her, my life would be so different. I wouldn't be me. I don't really know her, though, so I don't know if I love her. If I could get to know her, I think, maybe..."

"MAYBE! I'm your own flesh and blood, and you can only 'maybe' love me. You know what," Arwen said standing up, "I don't know why I came. I think I'll go."

"Wait," Chuck said, standing and grabbing her hand, "do you love Sarah? You're asking her to love you when she doesn't even know you. Can you do the same thing?"

"No," she said, "I suppose not. Goodbye."

"Arwen, I have to tell you something before you go," Sarah chimed in. "Please sit back down."

Arwen was intrigued and acquiesced.

"You said you didn't know who your father is," Sarah started.

"Yeah, my parents said you never told them."

"I never told them because I didn't know his name or all that much about him. Until today."

"*cough* Whore."

"What did you just call me?"

"Nothing, continue."

"Like I was saying, I found out who your father is today. His name is Chuck Bartowski, and he is sitting right here next to me," Sarah said, standing and taking a hold of Chuck's hand while he stood as well.

"Are you joking? So you guys, like, banged back in high school, didn't see each other for a real long time and then, like, found each other again? That is freaking awesome! Like some kind of movie or something."

"We're actually dating and living together. We were friends or colleagues or whatever for about three years before that," Chuck explained.

"And you didn't tell him? Not cool. But, oh my gosh, DAD!"

Arwen ran up and threw her arms around Chuck's neck. He hugged her back with all of the tenderness he possessed in him. When he woke up this morning he was just a guy with a hot girlfriend who lived with him. Now that hot girlfriend was the mother of his daughter and his daughter was here, hugging him. Chuck was the luckiest guy in the world.

"What about me? Why don't you hate him but you hate me?" Sarah butted in.

"He didn't know I existed. I have also decided not to hate you, but I still need some time to warm up to you. We can get to know each other."

"Okay. So are you staying with us?"

"Yup. I'm 14. I don't have money for a hotel. This will be better for family bonding anyway."

"What do you want for your birthday, sweetie?" Chuck asked while carrying her things to Morgan's room. He was away with Alex right now, so Arwen could stay there for now. He was going to be so excited to be Uncle Morgan.

"Chuck, stop buttering her up. You're already her favorite biological parent."

"I know, but she deserves something nice."

"Can I get some new throwing knives? I saw these great rainbow ones online and I was thinking that could kind of be like my signature thing, you know? Like, Rainbow Throwing Knife Girl," Arwen asked Chuck.

"She is your daughter, isn't she Sarah?"

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A/N: How will things turn out in this happy little family? Review to find out more. Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing. You guys are great!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I know a lot of you have been asking for Ellie, and I promise she will come into the picture very shortly. Keep reading and you won't be disappointed.

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Chuck and Sarah helped Arwen settle in. She didn't have much, only a medium sized duffel back that appeared hastily packed. It seemed like she took off from her parents house very quickly. They didn't want to press her on the issue yet, though, because she was still unsure of how she felt about them, especially Sarah. They said their goodnights and Chuck and Sarah headed off to their room.

Once the door was closed it was clear a serious discussion needed to be had.

"Look..." they both started at once.

"You go first," Sarah offered to Chuck. They sat on the bed facing each other.

"Sarah, I'm really still processing all of this. You spring this on me and then all of a sudden she is here. I mean, seriously Sarah, we have a daughter. That is such a big thing for me, for us. I feel... so proud of you. You were this strong woman even at 16, and you haven't changed. You did the hardest thing any woman would have to do: you gave up your baby. And can I thank you for not terminating the pregnancy?

"I've always kind of felt as though we were meant to be together. You know, I get a super-computer in my head with all of the governments secrets and you show up. That doesn't happen every day. I was destined to meet you again. That night, almost 15 years ago, was the best night of my teenage life. I had sex for the first time with a girl who was pretty and funny and who liked me. The day you walked into the Buy More was the best day of my adult life, until today.

"Finding out that we have a daughter together is better than anything I can ever imagine. I'm so... I don't know!" He started laughing, with that big Chuck smile on his face.

"I have to know how you are feeling. Please tell me you feel the same way," he practically begged.

"This is such a different experience for me, Chuck. I have always known I had a daughter. It is not something I wanted to know. Thank you for telling me how strong I was to give her up, but I didn't feel strong. I felt like a strong woman would raise her daughter, not just give her up. I never could have terminated the pregnancy, either. It's just not something I could do.

"Raising her was not an option. My dad could barely take care of me, so I knew I couldn't take care of her. It was so hard knowing from the beginning I let her down. I wasn't being the mother I could be. I had shoddy pre- natal care, but I did what I could. She deserved so much more than a teenage mom who could hardly protect her when she was still inside of the womb, so I put an ad out in the paper.

"Her parents were great, are great. He is a pediatrician, she's a real estate agent. They're great, and they could give her a life I never could have. As soon as she was born I gave her to them. I didn't even want to see her. I ended up getting a little glimpse by accident. She was so beautiful, a perfect little doll. I almost backed out of the adoption right there.

"That experience taught me you have to be strong. Bury your feelings deep inside. I cried when I got home from the hospital. I cried myself to sleep for a week, and then never again. Until I met you, for the second time. You brought those emotions out in me. You taught me how to feel again. I can't imagine my life without you. You are the most important thing, and you gave me something so wonderful: Arwen. She's great, even when she's hating me."

"I didn't even think about her parents! What are they going to do? What are they going to say? Does she have to go back to them?" Chuck was worried he was already going to lose his girl.

"I have their number. I'll call them in the morning. They know where she is. They can't be too worried. As for Arwen, we will take the time we can get with her now and make plans for later... later."

"One mission at a time?" Chuck asked.

"One mission at a time," Sarah replied.

With that, they changed their clothes, washed up, snuggled close and went to sleep. They had to be well rested for their first full day with their new daughter.

_Meanwhile in Arwen's room..._

Arwen quickly whipped out her cell phone and laptop as soon as Chuck and Sarah left the room. She had to get connected to the outside world again. Her parents had left like 40 messages and all of her friends had wrote on her Facebook page asking where she had gone. She didn't tell any of them because she couldn't trust them. She knew her parents knew where she had run off to, they weren't that dumb, but if they didn't know, she didn't want them to know.

Arwen came here looking for her birth mother, the woman who had given her up and never wanted to see her or talk to her. Arwen had always written letters hoping that Sarah would respond, but there was nothing. Her parents told her that at first, Sarah had left contact information so that she could receive updates. They explained when Sarah didn't respond how hard it must be on her to not be with her daughter. Arwen didn't understand. If you want to be with someone, you don't run away from them, you don't give up on the relationship. Arwen didn't want to give up.

That was why she was here: to make it work. Family is family, no matter what. It was an added bonus that her dad had turned up here as well. She still couldn't believe the fairy tale that brought him here. This was destiny, all of them being here now. They were going to be a family, at least until her adoptive parents came busting into town.

Even as she sat here in bed, in their apartment, she felt herself getting less and less mad at Sarah. Arwen put herself in Sarah's shoes. If she got pregnant right now, or even two years from now, what would she do? She wouldn't be able to raise the baby, even though her parents would probably make her. They would help her. They were good people like that.  
Chuck and Sarah were more like her, though. She didn't know much about them yet, but her very acute observation skills could tell quite a few things about them from this apartment. Clearly, this was Chuck's apartment and he had asked Sarah to move in with him. She, being emotionally retarded, didn't want to intrude and didn't bring a lot of her own stuff. Chuck was a huge nerd, that much was obvious. She must get that from him because she loved graphic novels and video games. She was also pretty handy with a computer. Her C++ skills were second to none at her fancy private school.

Sarah on the other hand was a scrapper. Anyone willing to get into a fight with their own daughter was crazy. That was where Arwen got her own feisty spirit from. Her parents called her "colorful" while the kids at school called her a "crazy bitch." Tomato, tomahto.

Chuck also appeared to have a sister, or else he had many pictures in his apartment he shared with Sarah of him and a good looking brunette woman. She definitely looked like a sister. Arwen wondered if they would meet. The girl looked nice enough.

Arwen was still getting used to the idea that these were her real parents. They were young and pretty cool and nothing like her adoptive parents. Except they loved her, just like her parents. At least, Chuck loved her. Sarah... she didn't know. That really did hurt. She almost started crying just thinking about it, but no. Push the feeling deep down inside. Don't get emotional, don't get hurt. Her parents tried to get her to air her feeling out all the time, she even went to therapy, but that wasn't her style. She didn't like to feel vulnerable.

In order to get her mind off of Sarah, she went back onto Facebook. She had to at least let her parents know she was okay. She got on her mom's page. She wrote:

"Don't worry. I'm fine. Call you when I'm ready to be found."

With that, she closed her laptop, set it aside, plugged in her phone, and went to sleep. She had a big first day with her real parents ahead of her and she needed to be sharp.

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A/N: What do we think? Good, bad, ugly? Let me know. I'm open to constructive criticism and ideas.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: You guys are just getting too spoiled with me updating so often. Here is the next chapter for your pleasure. I have decided to put off entering Ellie for one more chapter. She will be coming, just not today.

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When Chuck woke up before Sarah, as was usual, he called Casey and told him they were going to need at least a couple days off for a family emergency. No, Sarah hadn't broken up with him, no, he didn't have an OB/GYN appointment, and no, Ellie hadn't finally ripped his head off for lying for three years about being a spy. It was just... personal. Chuck wanted a few days for him, Sarah, and Arwen to get acquainted and be a normal family for the first time.

He knew there was nothing normal about them. Chuck and Sarah were spies. There was no way Arwen knew that, was there? Hopefully not. He didn't want her in danger. For her part, Arwen was a teenage runaway, the love child of two messed up teenagers. None of them really knew much for family except Arwen, who always felt out of place in her family. She was different and there was no hiding that fact.

Chuck sat down at the dining room table with a bowl of Cheerios and the L.A. Times, munching away and trying to keep up on all of the current events: someone got shot, some politician is corrupt, some tarantula has already predicted the next presidential election. He didn't notice Arwen walk in in her pajamas, sleepily rubbing her eyes, until she too sat down at the table with her own bowl of Cheerios.

Chuck's head immediately popped up. He knew it couldn't be Sarah.

"Oh, morning Arwen. You get up pretty early for a kid. I mean, it's only... 8:07. That's impressive."

"I can sleep, let me tell you, but I didn't want to today." She left the rest unspoken. What she wanted to finish with was that she was excited to get to know her biological parents even better. She loved her adoptive parents, but something was missing with them. There was no deep connection, no lasting bond. She could already feel that with Sarah and Chuck. They were a part of who she was, and that was exciting to have for the first time in her life.

"What do you like to do for fun?" Chuck asked, trying to warm her up to opening up.

"I like to play soccer and video games, but I like gymnastics and music as well."

"That's crazy! I like video games and music, too! Do you like computers at all?" Chuck asked with a hopeful tone in his voice.

"I'm into computers. I do some pretty good programming and whatnot. My dad says that gaming and computers aren't for a lady and my mom says staying in my room messing around with that stuff all the time won't get me anywhere. I know they mean well, but it hurts," Arwen said, surprised at how much she was opening up to this guy who was almost a complete stranger.

"They are mistaken. This is the best time to be a nerd. Yeah, the other stuff is great to have, but I think gaming and programming are where all the innovation are at. You're a smart girl. They just need to believe in you."

"Do you believe in me?" She didn't know why she trusted him so much.

"You're my daughter. Of course I do."

He smiled at her, and she smiled back. This was going well for the both of them.

"Well, I was going to play a little Halo before Sarah got up. Would you like to join, or is gaming not really your thing?" He didn't want her to feel uncomfortable, but hoped that they could have something to do together. This was Chuck's favorite thing to do, it was the only thing he did besides spying and fixing computers. If this didn't work out there was very little that could bond him with his daughter.

"Dude, I love that game! Beware, though, I am going to pwn you." Arwen was suddenly very awake. One of her favorite things to do in the mornings was play video games. It got her brain working and her body charged up. The fact that Chuck liked to do it as well made her so happy. This was the deeper connection she was hoping for. Her adoptive dad, Dan, always told her gaming was for boys, and nerdy boys at that. Chuck seemed to enjoy the fact that she wanted to play with him.

Arwen tossed aside her half- eaten bowl of Cheerios and sat with Chuck on the couch.

By 9:00am things were getting very heated in the game. Chuck and Arwen were having more fun than they could remember having in a long time. They were playing and joking with each other like they had know each other all their lives.

It was all fun and games until a very angry and tired Sarah Walker entered the room in her t- shirt and boxers. They stopped to look at her, but not before pausing the game.

"What the hell is going on in here? Are you aware of how early it is?" There was murder in her eyes.

"Sarah, sweetie, we were just having a little fun, you know? We were bonding. It's been great! I'm so sorry. We can stop if you want us to. We're really, really sorry." Chuck was clearly very nervous. Arwen just sat there looking a little afraid, even though she wasn't normally afraid of anything. The look in Sarah's eyes spelled death.

"I love you, but I will kill you. Literally, not figuratively, if you wake me up like this one more time. I won't kill you right now, however, because you were trying to do something nice with out daughter. Appreciated. Now that I'm up..." Sarah just left her thought unfinished and walked into the kitchen for some breakfast.

Chuck shut down the game and high- fived Arwen. She really had pwned him. It was embarassing to get beat by a 14 year old girl. It had been worth it, though. She was a lot of fun. He wanted Sarah to have that much fun with their daughter. Those two needed some bonding time as well. So he leaned over and whispered something into Arwen's ear. She huffed, and he nudged her, but she finally did stand up and walk over to Sarah, who was now the one sitting at the dining room table with a bowl of Cheerios.

"Um, Sarah, I was like wondering if you wanted to go, um, shopping with me like today or something. I didn't bring much, and I guess I need like some new clothes or whatever," Arwen said with her hands on her hips. She liked Sarah and wanted to get to know her, but this plan of Chuck's was so nerdy. Arwen didn't really like to shop and wasn't all that girly. She didn't think Sarah was that type either, judging from very bland wardrobe she had seen from her biological mother thus far.

Sarah put down her spoon and looked up at her daughter. She saw Chuck whisper to Arwen and could tell this was not something Arwen wanted to do, but the fact that she was willing to ask because Chuck wanted her to warmed her heart.

"I'm not all that good with fashion, but I've learned to like shopping a lot more since moving here. I would love to go shopping with you. That way we can get to know each other a little better without Chuck yammering on about ewoks and light cycles."

Sarah knew this was going to be a trying day as Arwen seemed to be a lot like herself at that age... and kind of now as well. She was stubborn, strong, and guarded. It would be hard to get to know anything about her.

When both ladies had gotten cleaned up and dressed, they grabbed their purses, bid Chuck goodbye, and headed out to the Porsche.

"It's too bad Ellie is at work all day. She loves shopping and is so good at it."

"Who's Ellie?"

"Oops! I can't believe we forgot to tell you. Ellie is Chuck's sister, so she's kind of your aunt. She lives in the same apartment complex as us. She lived with Chuck until she got married. She is going to love you. So is her husband Devon, a.k.a. Captain Awesome."

"Will I like them?"

"It's hard not to like them. Ellie is the nicest person I know. And she loves Chuck so much. She would do anything for him. She's like a sister to me, too. And Devon is so fun and very sweet."

"Well, if you guys like them, I'll try to like them, too. I'm not trying to be a pain, you know. I'm just not one of those warm, fuzzy people. I don't share my feelings or let people get to me. Being emotional is what will get you killed in this world. Not literally, but like metaphorically."

Sarah was surprised how much this kid was like her. It was like staring into an inner mirror. Not only did the girl look like her, she sounded like her. Sarah had said those things so many times. She had had a change of heart when Chuck came around, though.

They walked around around The Grove in L.A. for awhile, just commenting on the stores, going into a few, trying things on. They were having fun, but the conversation stayed light and surface-y.

"So, Sarah, I never asked you and Chuck what you guys do?"

This was not a question Sarah was prepared for. Things had changed a little in the job department for her and Chuck recently. She no longer had a cover job but remained with the C.I.A. while Chuck stayed at the Buy More not working with the government per Ellie's instructions.

"I, um, well Chuck works for the Buy More as the head of the Nerd Herd, and I don't do much of anything really." That was not very convincing.

"How does Chuck working at the Buy More and you not doing anything pay for your nice apartment in Burbank and your sweet Porsche? My parents said you worked for the government."

"Oh, yeah, I work for the government." Sarah was glad what she had told Arwen's parents all those years ago was still a valid cover now.

"What do you do for the government? My parents said you never told them."

Sarah had to think of something fast.

"If I told you, I'd have to kill you," she said with a wink.

"Awesome," was all Arwen said.

With their hands full of shopping bags they headed back home to Burbank tired and happy. Chuck was waiting there with dinner made. Sarah thought about how much she loved him and how much more she loved him when she found out they had a child together. As they sat down, the warm sunset illuminated the smiles on their faces. Chuck spoke up.

"I would like to make a toast."

Chuck and Sarah raised their wine glasses and Arwen raised her wine glass filled with ginger ale.

"To my family. Because even though we haven't all been together long, we have a connection that is deeper than anything I have ever know. I love you both so much that I can hardly believe that I could love two people this much. I have never known happiness like this. Thank you Sarah for giving us this child, this blessing. Thank you Arwen for coming to find us. To the family of us."

"To the family of us," the girls repeated.

Chuck wasn't exaggerating. He didn't think there was any one person who should have this much happiness at one time. It didn't seem fair. Sarah felt the same way. She felt so complete, something she never thought she would feel. Arwen felt so blessed to have two families who loved her so much. This trip was turning out to be the best experience of her life.

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A/N: Family goodness, yes? Reviews would help push the next chapter along. That's all I'm saying.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: I tried to make this chapter a little longer for 2 reasons: some people have requested longer chapters and I'm going out of town for a week. That means no more constant updates for now because there will be no internet. Please keep reading and reviewing so when I get home I can feel all of your love. Hopefully I will get some stuff written while I'm away and then I can update when I return. Thanks for all of your support thus far. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Ellie Bartowski Woodcomb.

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Ellie Bartowski Woodcomb was exhausted. She had just returned home from a 36 hour shift at the hospital that began at noon and ended at midnight of the following day. She did manage to get eleven hours of sleep after that, so she did feel a little better. But not much can fix have to be on your feet for so long. Working at the hospital so much was starting to make her more tired than it ever had before. Getting old was rough. And to top it off it seemed that her ankles were swollen a little bit, or was she imagining it? Oh well, it was just rough all around. She was upset she hadn't spent much time with her husband, who was on the same shift as her, and even more upset she hadn't seen her brother and his girlfriend in two whole days. Ellie loved Chuck and Sarah so much that not seeing them was worse than the fatigue or the general unpleasant feeling in her body.

Ellie decided that because it was nearly noon now, it would be quite alright to go over and visit the happy couple across the complex. Things had gotten so much better between them, and that made her happier than anything had in a long time. Chuck had been through so much with Jill, then Sarah, then Jill, then Sarah, then that Hannah girl who was around for about two seconds. Stability was something he needed in his life, and she could tell that he loved Sarah with all that he was. They were meant to be together. Sarah only seemed happy when she was with Chuck. She had a generally hard exterior appearance, but around Chuck she softened. Ellie hoped that they would get married soon. That would be... awesome!

Ellie knocked on the door of the apartment. When Chuck and Sarah heard the knock they were looking at some baby pictures Arwen had brought and just getting to know more about their newest family member. The knock sent them into a shock. It had to be Ellie, Casey had called to say he would be at Castle all day and would call if a mission came in. Morgan hadn't been seen in a few days, so things must have been going well with Alex. And if he decided to return, he would just walk in. The fact that it was Ellie scared them a little bit. Her reaction to their new family dynamic would be very large, but there was no knowing if it would be positive or negative.

The little group scrambled around putting Arwen's things away.

"Arwen, that is probably Ellie, my sister, and she doesn't know about you yet. She is going to freak, so I need you to go to your room for awhile so we can explain things. We'll come get you in a few minutes," Chuck explained hurriedly.

"She sounds scary, Chuck. I thought you said she was nice. This isn't nice. I have to hide from her. Not cool," Arwen replied.

"It's for your own good, trust me," Sarah said. "She is probably going to be mad at Chuck, but she will love you. Just let her get all of the information before you come out. Go, now."

Arwen rushed off to her room. All this time, Ellie has been waiting outside of the apartment confused. Their cars were parked out front. Were they doing something dirty in there? It was the middle of the day. What were they, animals? She knocked again, and her brother promptly answered it.

"Hey, sis. What's up?"

"Nothing, Chuck. What took you so long to answer the door?"

"Oh, you know, nothing. I was in the bathroom."

"Where was Sarah?"

"Hey, Ellie. Yeah, I was... naked," Sarah cut in

"Naked."

"Yeah, naked. I was... getting dressed."

"It's noon. Why weren't you already dressed."

"...Sex."

"Gross. But, yeah, I figured as much."

"Cool, so what brings you over here?" Chuck asked, changing the very awkward subject.

"I haven't seen you guys in so long," Ellie began entering the apartment and walking past Chuck. "Things have been so crazy with work. I wanted to come spend some time with my favorite brother and his girlfriend. Why are you both acting so weird?"

"No reason. We always act like this. Thanks for coming to visit. You are the sweetest sister I can imagine," Chuck said, calming down.

"Actually, Ellie, we have something we need to talk to you about. It's pretty big, so you might want to sit down," Sarah said, taking Ellie's hand and leading her to the couch.

"Oh my gosh, are you guys getting married?"

"Uh, no," Chuck and Sarah said in unison.

"Ellie, this is bigger than that," Chuck explained.

"Sarah's pregnant!" Ellie was very hopeful.

"Not exactly," Sarah said. "Ellie, what we need is for you to just listen and try not to react too much. You are going to want to, but don't."

"Now you're freaking me out."

"I'm just going to come out and say it. Rip off the band- aid. Ellie, I have a 14 year old daughter and Chuck is the father."

Ellie just sat there, paralyzed. A million questions were running through her head right now, but none of them could come out. She also had a million emotions running through her. She wanted to hug Sarah and Chuck and punch Chuck and cry and laugh and scream. She had to do something right now though because Chuck and Sarah were looking at her, waiting for some kind of reaction.

"Oh my gosh. How is this possible? How did you know Chuck before, when you were like... 16? Teen pregnancy? You poor thing."

"Well, I wouldn't say we knew each other that well. We met at Comic Con in 1996, but didn't share names. We just talked about everything without talking about our identities. We both looked so different that I didn't recognize him when we met again. We only knew each other for three days, but in those three days we became very close, like as close as two people could be..." Chuck told Ellie.

"Ew, Chuck. I don't need to know about your sex life. But seriously, Chuck how did you get her pregnant? Did the condom break or did it just not work?"

"I, uh, didn't, uh, you know..."

"CHARLES IRVING BARTOWSKI! You need to wear protection! You got a teenager pregnant because of the fact that you are a total idiot. Have I taught you nothing?"

"Yeah, don't scream about me getting teenagers pregnant. People might hear you and get the wrong idea. We were caught up in the moment. I know I made a mistake. Ellie, you did teach me better than that, and every time since I have used a condom. Promise."

"So, Sarah, you had this kid when you were 16. Then what happened?" Ellie asked.

"I knew that I wouldn't be able to give her the life she deserved, so I gave her up for adoption to two very nice people. She has been with them for the past 14 years, and they have been so great to her. She is everything I ever could have imagined a little girl of mine could be."

"How do you know anything about her? Have you two stayed in contact?"

"Sort of. This is really hard. Um, she and her parents sent me letters updating me about her life with pictures and everything. But I, uh, I never wrote back. It was too painful for me." Sarah began to tear up for about the thousandth time since Arwen had arrived. Chuck scooted in close to her, held her, and stroked her back.

"Sarah, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up bad memories. I can imagine you didn't feel comfortable talking to you daughter when you had given her up," Ellie said soothingly.

"Yeah, I just felt like I lost the right. I gave her up. She wasn't mine, so I couldn't tell her about myself and my life. I didn't deserve to have relationship with this girl who was so clearly wonderful and cared for me very much."

Arwen was listening intently at her bedroom door and she had begun to cry. She never knew that was why Sarah never wrote. It broke her heart. Of course she had wanted Sarah to write. Even though Sarah gave her up, they were still family. Sarah was still her mother. And Sarah thought she was wonderful, even though she didn't really feel so wonderful.

"Ellie, we also need to tell you that she is here. Her name is Arwen. Can I go get her?" Chuck asked of his sister.

"She's here? Of course you can go get her."

Chuck walked back to Arwen's room to find her waiting eagerly at the door. He took the teen by the hand and led her out to her waiting mother and acquisitive aunt.

As soon as Ellie saw Arwen entering the room, she screamed, not a terrified scream, mind you, but an Ellie "I'm so excited it is coming out of my mouth in the form of this scream" scream. At this sound, Arwen became slightly scared and began to move backwards towards her bedroom again, but Chuck pulled her along. If Arwen wanted to be a part of this family she was going to have to accept Ellie for the over- excited woman that she was. And she was over- excited. She was so excited that as soon as Arwen got close enough, she pulled the young girl into a bone crushing embrace. Arwen's eyes looked like they were about to pop out of her head and her arms just sort of dangled out to the sides. She didn't really know how to respond to this type of emotion. Everyone in her family was much more reserved than this. So she just let it happen.

Sarah and Chuck also just stood there and let it happen, although Sarah was looking a bit like she wanted to go rescue her daughter who didn't appear to be breathing and Chuck just held his girlfriend's hand and smiled at the beautiful family bonding that was going on.

After what seemed like an eternity to Arwen, Ellie released her, and everyone went back to sitting down in the living room with Ellie insisting that Arwen sit right next to her.

"So Arwen, Chuck and Sarah have told me about how you came to be, but I don't really know what brings you here now, especially without your parents," said Ellie.

Chuck and Sarah had forgotten to ask about this. Maybe forget wasn't the right word. They were a little scared to ask Arwen why the heck she was here and where her parents were. If they pressed her too much, they were afraid she would leave. They each thought that if her parents were really all that worried, they would have called the police by now.

"I kind of had this identity crisis recently. I have always known I was adopted, and I had always written letters to Sarah, but I didn't know hardly anything about her. I needed to know where I came from, or who I came from, really. Truth is, I did run away from my parents. I wrote them a note saying that I'm okay, and this can't have come as a shock to them. I have been saying I want to see Sarah since she stopped writing me. I just recently decided that I had to do it and I could do it. Chuck and Sarah, I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys that I ran away and didn't tell my parents. You're being so nice to me, and I should have told you the truth." Arwen felt like she was spilling her guts. She didn't know what was coming over her.

Sarah knew what Arwen was feeling right now. Being around the Bartowskis, feeling loved and accepted, made you want to open up and be honest with them. If you love someone, you are honest with them, like she should have been honest with Chuck. Sarah was happy to see how much her daughter loved her new family already. It was warming Sarah's heart, and she thought that she may even truly love her daughter. She couldn't say it just yet, though.

"It's okay, Arwen. As long as they know you're okay, it will be alright," said Chuck.

"Awww, Arwen, you are just the sweetest," Ellie said. "So what kinds of things do you like to do? Are you a girly- girl or a tomboy?"

"I guess I'm a little bit of both, sort of. I mean I do gymnastics and like shopping sometimes, but I play soccer, play video games, and have a violent streak in me."

"Violent streak? That's not good. Where would you have gotten that from?"

"You know me, very passionate. I think that is what she means," cut in Sarah.

"That's not..." began Arwen.

"She's also super smart," cut in Sarah, once again.

"Then you are definitely part of this family. You know, Chuck went to Stanford, I went to UCLA, and Sarah went to Harvard. You will be into any school you choose in a few years. What do you want to do? I know it's early, but you must have some idea," questioned Ellie.

"I want to help people. I might do the Peace Corps or maybe I'll work for the government. All I know is I want to do something where I'm serving the greater good."

Sarah sat there and beamed at her daughter. Could a person die from being too happy? Because if they could, Sarah was on death's door. Would Arwen have been this wonderful if Sarah had kept her? Sarah liked to think so, but she never could have given her the opportunities she has had by being in a stable home. This child was a saint; a slightly violent saint, but a saint all the same. She looked over at Chuck who had on that big goofy smile. He saw it, too. Their daughter was more than they could hope for.

It was then that the front door of the apartment opened and Devon Woodcomb entered. Everyone, including Arwen turned to look at him. He just stood there with a questioning look on his face.

"Hey, who's the new kid?" he asked, clearly not prepared for what he was about to hear.

Ellie answered him.

"This is Chuck and Sarah's daughter that was born when Sarah was 16. Her name is Arwen."

At first Devon continued to stand there, processing what was going on. Daughter... Chuck... Sarah... 16... Arwen. There were questions forming in his mind, but there was one word that was pushing it's way past all of those questions.

"AWESOME!"

And with that he bounded over to Arwen, grabbed her, and gave her a big bear hug, lifting her from the ground. She was stunned to say the least, but she shouldn't have been given the way Ellie greeted her.

Once Arwen had been returned to the ground and regained a normal breathing pattern the group filled him in on all things Arwen, like how she came about, where she had been, and why she was here now.

"So what is going to happen now? Are you staying here for long or do your parents expect you home soon?" asked Awesome.

"I hadn't really talked to Chuck and Sarah yet, but I would like to stay at least a little while. I switched to being home schooled this year because of all of the fighting stuff, so I'm already finished with my school year. I work fast. So I can stay until like September. That is, if you'll let me." Arwen was always afraid of being rejected, but it would hurt so much more if it came from her own blood.

Chuck and Sarah looked at each other. They knew what they both wanted.

"Of course you can stay, Arwen. You may have to stay on the couch once Morgan gets back, but you can definitely stay," Chuck responded.

"I want to talk to your parents first, though," said Sarah. "I know things between me and them hasn't been all that good recently, but I need to make sure they know you are safe. If I were them, I would want to know."

Arwen was touched at the responsible parent role Sarah was playing right now. But Arwen couldn't be sure if it was just a role or if Sarah was actually feeling motherly feelings. She handed Sarah her cell phone.

"I just dialed them," Arwen said.

Chuck and Sarah walked into the kitchen to have some semblance of privacy without actually going very far from Arwen in case her parents wanted to speak to her. Cara, Arwen's mom, picked up the phone.

"Arwen? Oh my gosh, is that you? We have been so worried!"

"Um, no, this is Sarah. She's with me right now."

"Sarah. I thought that was where she was. I knew she wanted to go see you, I just didn't think she would. How could I have been so stupid? If she wants something, she will go for it. Is she okay?"

"Yeah, she's perfect. Listen, Cara, she wants to stay here for awhile, and I want to let her. I found out who her father is and he is here, too. We want to spend time with her and get to know her."

"Why now? You gave up a relationship with her. I understand giving her up for adoption. That was right. Not speaking to her was wrong."

"I know I've messed up, but I want to do right by her now. She seems so great, and I just want to be around her. And she wants to be around me and her father. Please just respect our wishes."

There was a pause on Cara's side.

"I guess. Please just keep her safe. And I know she doesn't want to talk to us, but please keep us updated, and if she does want to talk to us she can call any time."

"Thank you so much, Cara. You have done so much for us already."

"You're welcome, Sarah. Just keep my girl safe. Goodbye."

"Of course. Goodbye."

Sarah hung up the phone and handed it back to Arwen.

"Your mom says you can stay!"

Arwen ran into Sarah's arms and they just stood there and hugged for a long while. This was what they were both hoping for: love and family.

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A/N: I hope you liked that. Savor it, and I'll see you all a week from Sunday. Keep reviewing.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: I'm sorry I didn't update as soon as I got back and for the long hiatus. But here for you now I have two new chapters. I hope that makes up for me not being here. Thanks for all of your lovely reviews. (Italics means flashback.)

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Sarah's bonding moment with Arwen didn't last all that long. Neither one of them was much in tune with their feelings nor big on hugging. It was then that Sarah said goodnight to her guests and then to her daughter. She and Chuck walked the girl to her room and then went back to their own room. This time was becoming stressful on their relationship. Yes, it was amazing that they had this connection from long ago and that they were family in this new and exciting way, but it was a lot for them to take in so early in their real relationship.

Exhausted they both plopped down onto their bed. Sarah just lay there, staring at the ceiling, trying to wrap her mind around the fact that Arwen was here, that they had hugged, and that she wanted to make things work not only with her daughter but with Chuck as well, as the father of her child. She couldn't stop thinking about where things would go from here. How could she carry on? Arwen would have to go back to her parents soon, and then what would happen? Would Chuck and Sarah only get to see their daughter once or twice a year? That seemed heartbreaking.

Sarah was starting to feel herself closer to Arwen every minute they spent together. Sarah was a little bit scared of how emotional she was feeling. It wasn't supposed to be like this. This wasn't the plan. The plan was to have her live a good life with good people. But now that she was here, Sarah felt as though Arwen had always been here with her. It felt right to be a family.

Chuck was sitting with his legs straight out in front of him and his back against the headboard. He had so many regrets in his life: Jill, Stanford, Buy More. Losing his virginity at Comic Con was not one of them, it never was. And now knowing that Sarah was that girl, it just made everything better. What was difficult for him was that he now needed to be a man, to step up. He had to protect his family, not just his sister, Devon and Morgan, but now it was Sarah and Arwen as well. Chuck felt so much pressure to make sure that nothing happened to his girls. It was not going to be easy because Sarah was still a spy and he... well he was dabbling in some intriguing stuff in the basement of his old house.

He knew Sarah was tough, and she could take care of herself. He had no doubts about her ability. Chuck only worried about how emotional Sarah was getting over Arwen. He worried it might be too much for her to handle. Clearly Sarah had made a big decision when she decided to give up the little girl. Chuck decided to ask her about it.

"Hey, Sarah. I know I wasn't there when you got pregnant. I mean I was. I'm talking about after you got pregnant."

She smirked at him. The rambling was one of his cutest traits.

"I was just wondering how you decided to give her up, and what happened after you did."

"It was a no-brainer. I was 16, poor, daughter of a con man, and the father of my baby wasn't there to help out. I had no other options."

"You know, I wish I could have been there. I wish I could have helped you."

"I know that, Chuck. You're a great guy, and if things had been different... they would have been different. Maybe we could have made things work back then. But that is highly unlikely. So, I'll tell you what really happened."

_Those little pee sticks didn't lie. Each one of the three she stole from the drug store told the same story: she had really fucked up. Jenny Burton was pregnant. Who would have thought that she would get pregnant after having sex one time. How lame was that? That was the story of her life, though. It was always worst case for her. Jenny sat there and thought about what she should do. The honorable thing in her mind would be to have this baby. She made a mistake and she should pay the price by losing her freedom to her baby. Jenny knew that wouldn't be fair to the baby. She would be ruining its life because Lord knew she didn't have any way of taking care of it. She could get rid of it. A quick procedure and this would all be a distant memory. But it wouldn't, would it? She would __always remember, always think about it. That was out of the question. Jenny's only option in the end was to give it up for adoption. She could maybe even find a couple right away and they could pay for her doctor's visits and stuff. That would be ideal. She would be on the lookout right away. But first she had to tell her dad._

_ Jenny expected her dad, Jack, to get absolutely mad. She expected him to throw things and yell, but he didn't._

_ "You know, that's what happens, darlin'. I'm not gonna say I'm happy, cause I'm not. I'm very disappointed that you didn't have the good sense to take precautions against this problem. But I don't hate you and I'm not angry at you."_

_ He held her close, and with that she knew everything would be just fine._

_ "What have you decided to do about it darlin'?"_

_ "I want to find a nice family to adopt it. I think that would be best for everyone. They could maybe even pay for the medical stuff."_

_ "You think we could get them to pay a little extra as well?"_

_ "Dad, I'm not going to let someone buy my baby. They will just pay like they would if they were the ones having the baby. This is not another opportunity for you to con people. Leave my baby out of it."_

_ And he did. The next few months were a blur. As opposed to going to the new school in San Diego, she home schooled herself. It wasn't easy, but she had the drive and she realized it was probably better than being the new pregnant chick in school. The pregnancy was fairly easy. The delivery was a whole different story._

_ Right at the end of her pregnancy Jenny was having trouble sleeping and was a few days past her due date. One night at about 3:00am she felt something dripping down her leg, like she was peeing herself. She had read a lot of pregnancy books and knew that she was probably finally in labor and her water was breaking. She got her dad up and they called the parents she had found for the baby. They were Cara and Dan. They lived in the suburbs and were sweet. It was a good life for her daughter, she knew._

_ Once they all arrived at the hospital, Jenny check in and went to her room. Her dad didn't follow._

_ "Dad, I need you for this."_

_ "Darlin', I can't be in there. No way. You go ahead though. I'll be right out here waiting."_

_ She wanted to cry then. The only person she had in this world was her dad, and he didn't want to be there for the biggest moment of her life thus far. She didn't cry, she couldn't. Cara took her hand._

_ "I'll go with you. Dan can stay with your dad. I don't think they'll like this part much."_

_ Jenny smiled at the sweetness of the woman. She knew she had made the right choice choosing these people to raise her daughter._

_ She was in labor for 20 hours. The nurses said it was because of how young she was. It was the most pain she had ever felt (and would ever feel). Giving birth was a messy business, but when it was over, she felt a sense of accomplishment. She was giving someone one of the most precious gifts one person could give to another person._

_ Jenny had told the doctor and nurses before that she didn't want to see the baby, but just as they were cleaning her up she caught a little glimpse accidentally. That little baby was the sweetest thing she had ever seen. Those tiny toes and amazing little fingers. She was a whole person, just a very small person. _

_ Cara looked over at her._

_ "Thank you, Jenny. You have given us the one thing we could never have. Would you please name her? Dan and I talked about it and we think this could be our little gift back to you."_

_ Jenny had been thinking about it a lot over the pregnancy._

_ "I like Arwen Rain. I know it's kind of different and weird, but I think that it's cool that the __name is unique."_

_ "I love it. I don't even know what to say. I can't thank you enough for giving us this angel."_

_ Cara hugged her so big and so hard that Jenny was sure that the woman would never let go. But she did, and left the room. That was when the tears really came. She was sobbing, and she couldn't stop._

_ Cara had left to go tell Dan and Jack that the baby had arrived, so the sobbing Jenny was surprised when her father walked in. She couldn't look at him._

_ "Cara and Dan are so happy. I'm proud of you, Sam." Then he kissed her forehead and sat on the bed next to her._

_ "Daddy, you shouldn't be proud. Look at me, I'm a mess."_

_ "You look more beautiful than ever to me. You are my girl, and you have just given the joy of being a parent to other people. I hope they know how lucky they are to have a girl I'm sure will be just like you."_

_ "Thank you." Jenny hugged her dad. They just sat there and she cried into his should for a long time._

_ On the day her dad got arrested her senior year of high school and she joined the CIA, Jenny wrote her last letter to Cara and Dan giving them her new name and a way to contact her through the government. She knew it was breaking all kinds of rules to give them that information, but she would always want to know how her daughter was doing. Arwen would always be a part of what made her who she was._

"So that's it. You know about the letters and all of that stuff. It sucked back then, a lot. But now, I know that everything turns out for good. You and I have a daughter, and I really couldn't be happier."

Chuck just sat there. Sarah had just opened up so much that he didn't know what to do about it. This was the most amazing moment. It was a real breakthrough. But he couldn't speak.

"Chuck, can you say something? You creeping me out just sitting there."

He looked up at her and into her eyes. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever met. And she was the mother of his child.

"Thank you for giving me the most amazing gift in the whole world. You two are my world now and I will never let you down."

He tucked a stray hair behind her ear and pulled in her for a kiss that showed how grateful he really was for not only opening up to him, but also for making them a family. This was the start of their new life and he wouldn't take it for granted.

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A/N: Yay for back story, and reviews.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Here is the second of the new chapters. I finally introduce the last super important characters: Morgan and Casey. I hope you like it!

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Morgan Grimes was a happy man. He had just spent the past few days away at a cozy inn with his new girlfriend, Alex. She was perfect. She was beautiful, smart, funny, and she actually liked him, which was surprising to him. She parked in front of his apartment complex and they shared a long passionate kiss. It had been a good past couple of days, but they both still had a lot of fire in them.

"Bye, sweetie," Alex said to her furry companion.

"Later, babe," he replied.

Morgan strutted out of that car like he was on top of the world and nothing could bring him down. That was until he made it past the gate of the complex and a burly man grabbed him by the collar and shoved him up against a wall. That man was John Casey.

"Hey, John."

"Don't talk, moron. What exactly have you been doing with my daughter for the past few days? What did you have to do at some little inn that you couldn't do here in front of Chuck... or in front of me?"

"Well, you see, John, we just wanted to get away from the hustle and bustle of..." Morgan mumbled.

"Yeah, I don't want to hear it. I was following you. I know where you were. Where you never left."

"You left Chuck unprotected?"

This angered Casey, and he released his gnomish victim.

"Walker is with him, isn't she? He's fine."

While Casey was distracted, Morgan ran for the front door of his apartment. Casey was close behind to give him an ass whooping for defiling his daughter. They both bust through the door. The scene there confused them.

Chuck, Sarah, and some young girl were in the living room watching The Princess Bride and laughing together. At the sound of the door slamming shut, they paused the movie and turned around.

"Who's that?" Morgan asked, always the most blunt of the group.

"Hey, little buddy. I think we need to have a chat. You too Casey," Chuck said.

The two men joined the little family on the couch. They were very confused as to why Chuck and Sarah would have a young girl in their house. Morgan thought she could be Sarah's little sister or something because they looked so similar. Casey assumed that this was another one of Chuck's lady admirers. He never could understand why the women just seemed to flock to that nerd. This girl was a tad young for Chuck though. To each his own.

"Morgan, Casey, this is Arwen. She is Sarah's and my daughter. Sarah and I apparently met when we were about 16 and had an anonymous fling. Arwen has been living with her adoptive parents for the last 14 years, but she is our child and will be staying with us for the summer."

Like all the other people who found out this news, Morgan and Casey just sat there slack jawed. They needed some time to gather their thoughts on this strange turn of events.

"Dude, this is so cool! You should make a movie out of this. Like you guys banged when you were kids and then... BAM!... here comes this kid all these years later and you guys are actually together now, but you didn't know each other back then. So awesome. Hey, Arwen, I'm your Uncle Morgan. Cool name, by the way."

"Nice to meet you Morgan. I've heard such nice things about you. And I think I'm staying in your room. Sarah picked out my name, by the way."

"You're staying in my room? MY room? Where am I supposed to stay?"

"Morgan, buddy, we'll work something out. You can't throw this kid out onto the streets. Look at how sweet she is."

Arwen made little puppy dog eyes, but quickly changed back to her steely demeanor.

"Can everyone stop calling me a kid? I'm 14. I should say in about two years I'll be about ready to start a family. Right Sarah?"

With that comment Sarah stood up and left the room. This was one of the things she didn't want to be teased about from her own daughter. If Sarah hadn't been stupid all those years ago, Arwen wouldn't even exist. She had no right to talk to her mother like that. It wasn't as though Sarah did this on purpose. She just wasn't aware that Chuck wasn't using protection. What did she know back then? She was just a kid herself.

When Sarah left the room, Casey got up and followed her out. This was going to be rich. Looks like the chocolate and the peanut butter of Bartowski and Walker got together long before he had to be a part of their twisted relationship. But when he got the Chuck and Sarah's room, Walker was sitting on the bed cross legged, head down, playing with a string from her shirt. He started to feel kind of bad for her.

"I came in here to make fun of you. To say 'Looks like CIA training at least taught you to use a condom' or something like that, but I'm not going to. This has got to be hard on you. And Chuck. You had to give up your daughter. I never knew I had a daughter, but I did miss out on so much, which I regret, so I kind of know how you feel. It's as though you know that you did the right thing, joining the CIA but you gave something so big up. You gave up your baby and I gave up the love of my life and the baby I never knew was there. I bet that's how Chuck feels. I'm sorry that this is hard for you, but at least you have a chance now. Make the most of your time together. We all have the chance to be parents now, you, me, Chuck. We live in a dangerous world, made all the more dangerous by what we do, but we have to make sure that our priority is keeping them safe. That is number one now. Don't forget that."

"Thanks, Casey. That means a lot coming from you. I've had my doubts that I can keep both of them safe, especially her. She's just a teenager, she can't defend herself. I can't screw this up again. I know that giving Arwen up was the best thing, but then I feel like I let her down because I wasn't there to raise her."

"Don't feel like that. It was the best thing for her to get out of your messed up house. I'm sure you could have loved her like no other, but babies need more than love. They need time and money, things you just didn't have at that age. You were smart, Walker. You did good."

"When did you become a softie, John?"

"Parenthood does something strange to you. Watch out for it, Sarah."

They both laughed and joined the others back in the living room.

"Sarah, I'm sorry I talked to you like that before," began Arwen. "Without you, I wouldn't even be here, so thank you for doing everything you did in life to make me be a person."

Sarah was so touched by her daughter's words that she pulled the girl into another hug. These were becoming far too regular occurrences in their household.

When they had sat down, Chuck turned his attention to Casey.

"Casey, while you were gone we talked about how it would work with me, Sarah, Morgan, and Arwen living under one roof. We just don't have the space here. So we were thinking, Morgan could stay with you for the time being."

Casey grunted.

"Come on, man, you could keep an eye on him. Make sure there was no 'funny business' with Alex. You have to protect your daughter."

At this, Casey's ears perked up and his interest was piqued.

"I like the idea. Watch him. Like a hawk. Very nice. We'll make the arrangements," said Casey. "Arwen, I'm sorry we haven't formally met yet. I'm John Casey and I work with Chuck and Morgan at the Buy More."

"You look a little too... burly to be working at the Buy More."

"Yeah, well, I lift stuff very well," covered Casey. "Let's go Morgan. Roomie."

With that, the two men left and went back to their apartment.

Arwen turned her attention to her parents.

"They scare me a little bit."

"They scare us too, but they're family. Like it or not."

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A/N: That's it for today people. I'm tired. Reviews are always welcome.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: I would like to say a big thank you to **Coreymon77** who has had the nicest words to say about this story and has also been pimping it out in internet land. Thanks for your support buddy!

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This morning began like any other morning since Arwen had arrived at Chuck and Sarah's house. Chuck and Arwen woke up before Sarah, had some breakfast, played some video games, and waited for Sarah to get up. However, this morning when Arwen got up Chuck and Sarah both were already up. As she walked down the hallway they appeared to be having a whispered argument. She really hoped that nothing was truly wrong between them because she wanted this new family they were making to work out. Chuck and Sarah seemed to love each other more than anything, so she wasn't all that worried, just curious.

What Arwen couldn't hear was that Sarah had gotten a call from Casey earlier that morning calling her to Castle for a mission. Chuck was finding staying out of the spy world very difficult now due to the fact that his sister didn't want him to be doing that kind of stuff. What neither of the women knew was that Chuck had been doing his own spy work down in the basement of his old house, just not for the CIA. He was trying to find his mother and would stop at nothing to do that, but he was still itching for the action of being back in the field.

"I want to go with you. You need me," said Chuck.

"No. You're not in the CIA. You can't do this," Sarah replied.

"I'm still the Intersect and I can help. Please, Sarah."

"You can't have this both ways. Either you're in or you're out."

Chuck paused. This wasn't the first time they had had this argument in the recent past. What he wanted didn't align with what Ellie wanted for him. So he had to decide was it better to be out in the world keeping it safe for Ellie, or was it better to be at home where he would be safe, keeping Ellie at peace.

"I'm in. Let's go."

"We need to be at the Orange Orange in 15 minutes to meet Casey at Castle."

Arwen heard this last line perfectly clear. Pretty much everything about it intrigued her. Why would they go to the Orange Orange this early? Wouldn't it be closed right now? What was Castle? Or was it a castle? Casey was involved in all of this? Arwen's mind was spinning. Chuck and Sarah seemed to be involved in something shady. She had been wondering how they could afford this nice apartment. And Sarah had never been honest about what she did specifically. She worked for the government, and that was all Arwen knew. Could she be a spy? Chuck too? No, that was dumb.

Arwen walked out into the living room feigning as though she had just walked out of her room and missed the whole discussion. Chuck and Sarah were packing their things.

"Hey, guys. What are you doing?"

"Crap! Hey, Arwen. We just, uh, have to run some errands today. We'll be back later," said Chuck.

"I can come with you. Wait two minutes," Arwen replied.

"Oh, you know, you probably don't want to come with us. Boring stuff. Why don't you go see what your Uncle Morgan is up to today." Chuck went over and kissed her on the top of the head. "Bye."

"Yeah, bye," she said back.

Arwen put her clothes on and headed across the courtyard to Casey's place where Morgan was staying. She was going to get to the bottom of this.

When she walked in Casey had already gone, but Morgan was still asleep. When she found him in his room she decided a rude awakening was going to be the best way to get him to open up about where Chuck and Sarah were. From the doorway she took a running start. She then proceeded to jump on top of him, remembering she was a full grown teenage girl. Morgan awoke with a scream that was heard around LA. Arwen began to laugh. This was going to be easy.

Seeing that it was Arwen who had pounced upon him, Morgan jumped out of bed, forgetting that he had been, as always, sleeping in the nude. Arwen covered her eyes and buried her face in a pillow.

"Oh my gosh, my eyes!" screamed Arwen.

"What are you even doing hear?" screamed back Morgan.

"I need your help. But first I need you to put on some clothes."

With Morgan momentarily covered, Arwen slipped out of his room to allow him time to change. As she was walking around, she noticed how strange this place was. There was a gun cabinet, nice surveillance equipment, and absolutely no décor save a single bonsai tree. Casey really was a special kind of freak.

Morgan entered the room finally decent.

"So, with that rude entrance you must have something very important to ask me. Shoot."

"Well, I need to know why Chuck and Sarah went to the Orange Orange this morning."

"They told you they were going there?"

"Uh, yeah. They left about ten minutes ago."

"And they left me?" mumbled Morgan.

"What was that?"

"Oh nothing. Uh, I guess they just needed some fro yo to get their morning started right."

"I thought that place didn't open until 11am. It's only 9am right now."

"Ummmm... they... uh... they know somebody. A friend. Who works there."

"Yeah, whatever. Take me there."

"I can't."

"You can and you will."

"Really?"

"Among the skills Chuck and Sarah don't know I have is that, Morgan, I know kung fu."

"Ok, right."

Arwen proceeded to perform a series of kicks and punches into the air to demonstrate her point. She would get what she wanted, even if violence was going to be the way she got it.

Morgan was literally shaking in his shoes.

"Understood. Let's take the herder."

Pleased she got her point across, Arwen skipped out to the car.

Once they had arrived in the parking lot across from the Orange Orange, they both exited the car and walked toward the store.

"Now, Arwen, seriously, you need to just stay on the sidewalk and let me handle this. I'll go see what Chuck and Sarah are up to. I really need you to stay outside. Got it?"

"I'm not stupid Morgan. I understand."

"Okay. Alright. Just do it."

"Yeah, sure."

There was no way that Arwen was going to stay outside while all of the secretive business was going down. So when Morgan opened the door, she snuck in behind him without his knowledge. She was far too good at this. Then Morgan went into the freezer, she caught the door and peered in because the room was too small to follow him. She saw in type in a pass-code on a screen that appeared from nowhere and walk through another hidden door. Arwen slipped through the freezer door quickly enough to slip through the second secret door as well. The sight that greeted her was incredible.

This appeared to be some kind of secret spy lair. She was on top of a metal staircase and down below she saw Chuck, Sarah, and Casey. They were all looking up at her.

"Morgan! What is she doing here?" screamed Chuck.

"Shit! Arwen, I told you to stay outside!" screamed Morgan.

"Yeah, well, I didn't. I surprised you even believed that I would."

Sarah just stood with her head in her hands. This was exactly why having a daughter when you were a spy was a problem. The girl had just walked into danger. Now she knew about Castle, and knowledge made you a target. Her little girl was a target.

Casey was seething. Morgan was such a moron that he couldn't even watch one kid and make sure she didn't go to the one place she shouldn't. What an idiot.

"Get her out of here, now," said Casey.

"No, I want to stay. What is this? What are you guys doing?"

"Arwen, I love you, but you have to go. It isn't safe," said Chuck.

Sarah pondered on how Arwen had gotten in here. She must have been stealthy enough to slip through doors unnoticed. Morgan could have at least seen or heard her if she wasn't good enough. Did this girl, her girl, have the spy gene?  
"Let her stay. If she goes, she won't stop asking. She's found us out, we might as well tell her the truth," cut in Sarah.

Arwen continued down the stairs and all five of them sat down at the big metal conference table.

"Arwen, I am an agent of the CIA. I have been since I was 18 years old. That is one of the reasons I never wrote back to you. It would have been too dangerous. This is our base, called Castle."

"I am an agent of the NSA and a former Marine, Colonel John Casey. This base is part of a joint intelligence project. That is where Chuck comes in."

"I am the joint intelligence project, the Intersect. I won't go into details but basically I have all of the nation's secrets in my head as well as the ability to recall special skills, even though I may never have learned them, and perform them no problem. I don't work for the government any more because I want to keep my family safe, but that doesn't change what I have inside my head. The fact that we are telling you all of this means that you are now in incredible danger as we all have been since this began around four years ago. We trust you not to betray our secret. I trust you, Arwen"

Arwen just sat there trying to process for a minute. Then her eyes got big.

"No way! You guys are spies? Awesome! But wait, where does Morgan come in."

"Thank you. I am a new agent of the CIA trained to basically help out Chuck or help find Chuck or just know everything about Chuck.

"This is all pretty wicked, guys."

Just as Arwen was saying that, the teleconference screen popped on and Beckman's face appeared.

"Excuse me, WHO IS THAT?" she yelled.

"Not good. Hello General. This... is... my... my daughter, Arwen," said Sarah.

"You're what?"

"She is actually our daughter General," piped up Chuck.

"Explain, Mr. Bartowski. Then explain what you are doing here as well as the girl."

"First of all, Sarah and I had an anonymous sexual encounter when we were about 16 years old, and that encounter produced a daughter that I never knew existed until just recently. Arwen was adopted by a nice family but is staying with us for a few months. As for why I am here it is because I have decided that I need to be a part of the agency again. It is better for my country and my family that I protect them through active duty than protect myself by staying home. I have no idea why Arwen is in here. It's probably not a good idea."

"I take from what I heard from the girl's mouth that you told her. About everything."

"Yes, ma'am. I did. I'm so sorry, but she would have found out. She is very smart."

"Yes, well, I shouldn't be surprised that you and Agent Walker have created some kind of offspring. I just can't believe that it happened so long ago. Your relationship is getting more and more twisted with each passing day. Now it's time for the girl to go home. Grimes, escort her out."

Sarah knew that Arwen could be an asset to their organization. Yes, there was an element of danger involved, but if they began training her early, they could make her into the best spy this country, and maybe the world, had ever seen. Sarah pushed to the front of the screen.

"If I may, General, Arwen seems to have something special about her. She has a natural spy ability that not many people posses. I think we should groom that while she is here."

"Do you understand how dangerous her life would be if she were a junior agent? Very."

Chuck panicked. He didn't want his daughter in danger. He didn't care if she had talent in this area. She needed to use her other talents. She didn't need to be a baby spy.

"I do understand that general, but putting aside a talent like hers would be the biggest waste."

Beckman thought about it. If she was Sarah's daughter she would be strong, agile, and able to talk her way out of any situation. Being Chuck's daughter she was smart, technologically able, and driven. This child could be a powerful combination.

"I will only allow this to happen if Bartowski give his permission. I need the permission of both parents."

Chuck though about what Beckman and Sarah had said. If he made Arwen stay out of this it would be just like what Ellie did to him. He would be wasting a gift. And he could protect her if she was always near by, and Sarah could too. This could work out.

"Okay, General. Let's do it."

Beckman then beeped out.

"Score!" yelled Arwen.

Chuck, Sarah, and Morgan laughed at her enthusiasm while Casey smirked and grunted.

The next few days included a series of tests for Arwen, each trying to determine her aptitude as a junior spy. The results came back and they were off the charts.

"She has more promise than they have ever seen," said Sarah to Chuck.

"She's you."

"Chuck, that has a lot to do with you too. You are a great spy, and all of that is backed up with the heart to save the world."

"I don't want to save the world, I just want to be with you," he said mimicking a similar statement she had made long ago.

"You can do both, you know?"

"Now we can both be spies together and be with our daughter all at once. I think this is better than the best life I ever imagined."

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A/N: You like it, review. You don't like it, review. I welcome tips and ideas. Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing. It keeps me going.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: School is starting really soon, so I do want to update at least one more time before I have to be worrying about papers and readings and real life stuff. Keep reviewing and I'll try to keep writing.

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The training sessions that Sarah was putting Arwen through were grueling. There they were, six hours a day, five days a week in Castle going through combat scenarios and fighting techniques. Included in the training sessions were actual sit down classes where Sarah taught Arwen the logistics of being a good spy, things like stealth and quick thinking. Sarah had saved deception and there was no talk of seduction. Even though she was training her daughter to be an amazing spy, some things could wait until the girl was at least 16 years old.

Sarah was pushing Arwen because she could see the potential. Her daughter had all of the right qualities of a spy already built in to her personality and body. Arwen was tall and thin but not so tall she stood out, and she was flexible and strong. These things made for a good fighter. Even though Arwen had never really studied all of the different fighting styles and weapons Sarah was teaching her, she picked them up with absolutely no trouble. Her personality was closed off and focused. She didn't let people get into her brain and distract her. There was no room in her for getting hurt. No one could touch her. Sarah could understand that. She used to be that.

Arwen was loving her training sessions. She thrived on being pushed to the point of pure exhaustion. In her sports practices she was always the first one on the field or mat and the last one off of it. She would even practice on the weekends without being told. She didn't do it because she was trying to burn calories or anything like that; she just enjoyed the discipline of doing something every day even though she wasn't being told to do it.

Sarah's daughter also loved spending time with her birth mother. They didn't talk really about anything, just spying and fighting, but she felt closer and closer to Sarah each day. Although Arwen was not naturally an open person, she was feeling an urge to share with her mother things about her life. Arwen never talked to her adoptive mother about anything substantial because the woman was a natural worrier. Sarah seemed like the kind of person who would listen and not judge. Teenage girls are filled with secrets that they keep inside just because they know they have no person who can be their vault. Sarah was going to be that person for Arwen.

"Sarah," she asked one day at the end of training, "can I talk to you about something?"

Sarah was caught off guard by her normally quiet daughter speaking up.

"Of course, of course. What is it?"

"I need to talk to you about boys, but I need you to keep it to yourself. You can't tell anyone, not even Chuck."

Sarah was so pleased that Arwen was opening up that she decided to help the teen out.

"I promise not to tell, but we need to go someplace else. This place is riddled with bugs."

They drove to the beach, Chuck and Sarah's beach, and sat down together in the sand. All they did was sit for at least 15 minutes before Arwen spoke up.

"How did you know you were in love with Chuck?"

Sarah had to think about it, but not for long. She remembered so clearly the day they met and their first few days together. Things had been so different then; they had been so different then. It seemed so long ago.

"I had known Chuck for less than a week. Of course when I first met him, I felt something, but I didn't know what it was until a few days later. He was almost in a helicopter crash but was able to safely land it. When he was up there I was terrified that he was going to die and I wasn't going to be able to tell him. That was all I kept thinking, was that I was never going to be able to tell him. I didn't really know what I wanted to tell him at first, but then it came to me. I loved him. When he landed the chopper I felt so many emotions. I was mad, proud, scared, disappointed, relieved, but mostly I was happy that we still had more time together. That is when I knew I loved Chuck. I was scared of it, though, because I had never been in love like that before. It's scary, and that's why they call it _falling_ in love."

"And when you guys had sex for the first time?"

Sarah panicked. She wasn't prepared to have the sex talk with anyone just yet. She was still adjusting to her new role as mother, and here Arwen was asking about sex. Honesty needed to be her best friend right now. It was a strange conversation to be having, however. How many teenage girls wanted to hear about their parents having sex?

"Chuck and I almost had sex for the first time about two years after we met, but we didn't have protection. So we stopped. We didn't have sex. That was the right thing to do. If you don't have protection, don't do it. But, uh, later, like a year later, we were in a better place. We had decided to really commit to one another, and we had protection so we did it. Chuck and I made love because we were in love and we knew we wanted to be in this relationship for the long haul, probably forever."

"Okay, well I was just wondering, um, because, uh…"

"Spit it out, Arwen."

"There is this boy. He lives down the street from us, so I've known him for a while, but he goes to the high school. He is 16, and he is so cute. I've had a huge crush on him like forever, and I think I fell in love with him. He always kind of saw me as this little kid. I wanted to show him I wasn't."

"Arwen, what did you do?"

"I snuck out and went to this party. I didn't plan on doing anything. I just got carried away."

Arwen started crying.

"I wanted him to like me. We were making out and it seemed like he did. But then he wanted more, and I… I…"

"You didn't. Or I will cut his dick off."

"I had sex with him," Arwen was really sobbing now. "Then he just left right after. I had to tell somebody, but I knew I couldn't trust anyone. Except you."

"Come here."

Sarah pulled Arwen into a tight embrace. Arwen's head was resting on Sarah's chest and Sarah had her arm pulling Arwen in and stroking her hair while her daughter cried. Sarah let the girl cry until she was finished. She knew what it was to have your heart broken. She knew what it was to have your first time not go as planned. She was so glad her daughter had opened up to her. She even considered it a miracle because it took Sarah much long to open up to anyone.

Eventually the crying stopped and they were just left there holding each other.

"All things turn out for good, you know," Sarah said.

"I don't see how this could be good ever," replied Arwen.

"You are training to be a spy. When you go home, you can not only kick this dude's ass, you will be able to manipulate his mind and then kick his ass."

They both laughed.

"What you told me about Chuck, was that true?"

"I wouldn't lie about that. I wish I could describe it better, but it's so hard. You'll feel it someday."

"How do you know?"

"You're special, Arwen, and my kick- ass- ninja girl senses tell me that there is a special guy out there just for you. You're just going to have to wait for him."

"Thanks."

"You are welcome. And while you're waiting, please no more sex with inappropriate boys. I can't cut off the dick of too many men. It's frowned upon."

"Alright. I promise no more sex until I find the right guy. What do you think Chuck would have done if I told him this story?"

"I think we never want to figure that out because although I may just say I will cut off genitalia, Chuck will actually go through with it if he thinks someone has hurt a member of his family."

"Chuck doesn't strike me as the violent type, though."

"Oh, he's not. But if you go after his family or friends, there is no promising anything. He would do anything for them. Not only them, us, too. And you especially. You are his little girl. Even though he hasn't known you for long, he loves you so much, Arwen."

Arwen smiled. It was nice feeling this loved. She hadn't been so sure when she came here of the reception she would get, but this was so much better than anything she expected. There was one person she valued the most.

"What about you, Sarah?"

"What about me?"

"Do you love me?"

"I have been thinking about it, and yeah, Arwen, I love you more than I knew I could. I thought I had pushed you away, but here you are and I love you more for it. Do you love me even though I pushed you away?"

"I do. If I didn't, I would be here. I always have. That is why I wrote the letters. You are the person I treasure most. I didn't tell anyone else about losing my virginity except you. You get me. You're my mom."

Sarah tackled Arwen to the sand in a big bear hug. They hugged and laughed like they did it all the time. Even though they grew up with such different lives, they were the same and nothing could tear them apart.

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A/N: That's not a cliffhanger if anyone was wondering. Reviews take less than 60 seconds. Please and thank you.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Let me know what kind of things you want addressed and I'll try to go there. I'm open to ideas, people.

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Arwen had been with Chuck and Sarah for about two weeks now and she was having a blast. It was every teenager's dream: she was away from her parents, not in school, and she was learning to be a spy. It was awesome, as her Uncle Awesome would say. Her fighting techniques and knowledge of the spy world were increasing at a rapid pace. There was something she was missing though. She was missing parts of her regular life. She liked playing soccer and doing gymnastics. They were a part of who she was just like this was becoming a part of who she was. So as she sparred in the dojo with Sarah she let her mind wander. Arwen thought about her friends and teammates who she was letting down by leaving town so suddenly. She thought about her angry coaches. She loved being here, but it was hard on her to leave parts of herself behind. When her mind wandered, however, Sarah swept at her legs and knocked her down. Arwen stared up at the ceiling in shock.

"I can't believe you just took me down."

"Oh my gosh, Arwen! I'm so sorry. I thought you would be able to defend that. All you had to do was simply jump over it. I wasn't even trying that hard."

"Seriously," Arwen said sitting up, "you should be trying harder. I want to learn here."

"I can't purposefully hurt you. You're my daughter. I'm not going to try hard to beat you up. I think that's called child abuse or something."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Help me up at least."

Arwen stuck out her hand and Sarah pulled her to her feet.

"So why didn't you jump? Where was your head?"

"I don't know. I just kind of spaced out. I was thinking about stuff at home. Like I have a big gymnastics meet coming up. My coach texted me yesterday asking where I had been. He said if I wanted to be in the meet I had to come to practice this week. I'm just kind of bummed I have to miss it because I've worked so hard this year."

"We'll get you to practice."

"Really? You would do that?"

"Of course. I have some stuff to do here, you know mission paperwork, but I think Chuck would be willing to take you. And I know he doesn't have anything he needs to be doing right now."

"That would be so great!"

"Is the practice in San Diego?"

"No. I go to a gym in Anaheim."

"Why do you go all the way to Anaheim? That's like an hour and a half from where you live."

"My dad works out there and the gym is really good. I was looking for something competitive but not elite. I do a lot of other things besides gymnastics, so it's a priority but not my only priority."

"Alright. We'll get you there. Let's call Chuck."

Chuck was hidden deep in the basement of his old house when his phone rang and Sarah's face showed up on the screen. He worried that she was looking for him. He couldn't keep this place a secret for long.

"Hi sweetie. What's up?"

"Hey, Chuck. It's Arwen. I was wondering if you could take me to gymnastics in Anaheim."

"Oh, yeah, okay. That's no problem."

"You sound kind of echo-y. Where are you?"

When Sarah heard this she got curious. Where would Chuck be that would be echo-y."

"I'm, um… you know it's not important. I'll be home in about 30 minutes. See you."

"Yeah, see ya."

Arwen hung up the phone and gave it back to Sarah.

"Did he say where he was?"

"No. He said it wasn't important but that he'd be home in 30 minutes. We better get back and I'll get my stuff ready to go."

"Sounds good."

Sarah knew that Chuck was into something shady, and she would get it out of him. They had said no more secrets. He had to be keeping his part of that up just like she was. They were in a real relationship now and if it was going to work they couldn't be hiding this kind of stuff from each other.

Once Arwen had finished packing up her stuff to go to practice, Chuck walked into the courtyard to find Sarah sitting on the fountain, the location of so many of their infamous talks. He knew this would not be good.

"Chuck, come here. We need to talk."

Chuck did as he was told. Sarah was being serious with him and did not look like a woman to be messed with at this point.

"I think you're up to something, but I don't know what it is. Why didn't you tell Arwen where you were today? Where do you go all the time? Why did you decide to become a spy again? You're keeping something from me, Chuck, and I don't like it."

Chuck took a deep breath.

"I've been keeping it from you because I wanted to figure out what it was all about first, by myself. I also felt like if I told someone else the CIA could find out and they would take it all away from me."

"You should have trusted me. You know that you can. What is it? Where have you been?"

"I know I should have and I'm sorry. I've been at my old house where I grew up. My dad had this secret basement/ lab thing with all of this information about bad guys and just a whole bunch of other stuff. I mostly go down there, though, because there is information on my mom who disappeared. She's out there, Sarah, and the government has something to do with it. I'm going to find her."

"Chuck, you could have told me that. I wouldn't tell anyone. And if you didn't want help, I would back off. This is your family. I don't want to intrude."

"Don't say that Sarah. This is your family, too."

"Wait, what are you saying Chuck?"

At that moment Arwen popped out of the front door with her bag.

"I'm ready for practice! Oh oops."

Arwen realized that she had intruded on what seemed to be a very intimate moment between her birth parents. She wanted them to have their moment, but she also wanted to go to gymnastics.

Chuck stood up.

"It's okay, Arwen. We should get going. Sarah, this conversation isn't over. We'll be back in time for dinner."

Sarah was upset that Chuck was leaving as he clearly had something important he wanted to say (or ask her maybe). But she had to let them both go.

Arwen was so happy to be back at gymnastics. Her friends were there and her coach, and she was ready to get back to work. This meet was going to be hard to win, but she was up for the challenge.

"Chuck, there is a parent watching room right over there. It has a glass window so you can see what I'm doing. That is, if you want to stay. You don't have to."

She really hoped he would. He had never seen her do anything really besides sparring with Sarah. She had been working so hard and him saying he liked it would feel so good.

"I definitely want to stay."

Arwen smiled and hugged him quickly. Then she ran off onto the mats and Chuck went to the observation room. There were a few other parents in there.

"Hey. I'm Jack, Alana's dad. Are you Arwen's uncle or something?" asked a dad who gave Chuck a questioning look.

"Not really. You know Arwen is adopted, right?"

"Yeah. Her parents mentioned it once."

"Well, I'm her birth father."

"Okay. That's cool. She's something special, that Arwen. She's at the top of the club here. You should be proud."

"I couldn't be more proud if I tried."

"That's good. She works really hard. She's super hard on herself. Is that something you do, Chuck?"

"Oh, no. That would be her mom. Sarah is always beating herself up even though she is so good at everything. They're really alike. You should see it."

"Wow. Do you have a good relationship with Arwen's birth mother?"

"Haha. Yeah. It's a long, weird story, but we're living together. I'm actually going to ask her to marry me."

"Hmm, that seems like a strange progression to take. You get a girl pregnant, she gives the kid up, then you get married."

"Like I said, long and weird, but she's the love of my life and I can't wait to have her as my wife."

"If you're happy, then no judgment, pal. What's going to happen to Arwen?"

"Nothing. She is staying with us for a couple of months, but at the end of the summer she will go back to her parents."

"Seems like that would be hard on all of you."

"It will be, but we have no choice. Legally, she's not ours. I hope we get to see her, but it's up to her parents."

"Well, I wish you the best of luck."

"Thanks."

Chuck looked back out at the gym. Arwen was going for the final dismount on the uneven bars. A few big swings around, a release, some flips, and she nailed it. As soon as she was on the floor she looked over at Chuck who gave her two thumbs up. She gave him a big smile back. This was going to be the best summer ever.

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A/N: Oh yeah, reviews. Please and thank you.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: I'm really sorry that I haven't written in a long while, but I started school and it has just been crazy. This chapter is dedicated to all the people who have stuck by the story even though I haven't updated since August.

When Arwen had finished gymnastics practice she ran to greet Chuck in the parents' watching room.

"Chuck, how did I do?"

She was so eager to have the approval of this man who had come to mean more to her than almost anyone in the world. He was someone she never thought she would know, but Chuck being here with her now was more than she could have hoped or dreamed. Arwen looked up at her father with her big eyes and a smile all over her face.

"Are you joking? You are amazing! You should be in, like, the Olympics or something."

"Ah, no. I don't want to train that hard at this. I've got so much else going on. But thanks. That was really sweet."

"Anything for you, babe. Let's go home."

Arwen went to get her things, and when she returned to Chuck in the lobby he put his arm around her shoulders and they walked out together. Once again, she turned her face up to his and beamed. Her dad never really liked coming to the gym ever, so this was a whole new experience for her. It was great knowing that someone was proud of all of the things she did, not just school or sports.

On the ride home they were mostly silent. Even though Chuck and Arwen had only known each other for a very short time, they were very comfortable around one another, as if they had known each other their whole lives. But Arwen had something on her mind, and she had to talk to Chuck while Sarah wasn't around.

"Chuck?"

"Yeah, Arwen?"

"Do you love Sarah?"

"Of course." Chuck thought this was a pretty silly question from someone who had been staying with him and Sarah for a couple of weeks. He knew that it was pretty evident from the look on his face every time Sarah walked into a room that he was so in love with her it was embarrassing. And the fact that Sarah acted happy around only him was his sign that she loved him back. Of course, he didn't see that at first when they were just working together, but he saw it now. When it wasn't just them, she was so closed off. But when they went anywhere together as a couple she laughed and smiled just like a real girl. He could never believe he could do that to someone as wonderful as Sarah Walker.

"Okay, just checking. Because you live together and you love each other. And now you have a kid together. And you've known each other for a long time. So…"

"What are you getting at here, kid?"

"Why aren't you and Sarah married?"

There was a question. Chuck didn't even like to ask himself that question, or think about it for that matter. This kid was stirring up some trouble.

"Well, you know."

"No. Nope, I don't.

"Being a spy is really dangerous, and we never know what will happen in the future. It's just really hard to put down roots when you're living a life like that."

"Those don't sound like your words, dude. That's what Sarah told you, right?"

"I can think for myself."

"I know you can, but you're not. You want to get married. I'm sure it was your idea to shack up. She probably didn't even want to at first."

"You may be right."

"Of course I'm right. I'm, like, a total genius."

"So, you're right. So what? I can't marry someone who doesn't want to be married. You should be smart enough to figure that out."

Chuck was getting really agitated with this conversation. It was hard for him to admit that he and Sarah weren't the perfect couple. Yes, they loved each other with a love that had never been known before, but they weren't perfect. Their differences could possibly be their Achilles Heel.

"Have you talked to her about it? Marriage?"

"No. I was going to, but…"

"But nothing. I'll go over to Casey's when we get home. You and Sarah can have a quiet dinner together to talk. Maybe I'll stay over at Casey's, too. That way you guys can…" She gave him the Bartowski eyebrow dance.

"Gross, Arwen! We're your parents. Stop talking about our sex life. Um, but, yeah. You should probably sleep over there."

"Rock on."

When they finally arrived home, Sarah was in the kitchen cooking, something she hardly ever did. It actually smelled delicious. Arwen ran into her room to pack her things and get out.

"Hi, Arwen. Where are you going?" asked Sarah.

"Oh, she wanted to go have a sleepover with the colonel and the gnome," replied Chuck.

"The who and the what?"

"Casey and Morgan."

"I thought we were going to have dinner together."

"Arwen and I actually had a talk in the car, and we decided that you and I need some time tonight. Just to talk and have a quiet night. I said earlier that we weren't finished with our conversation. Now we'll have a chance to finish it."

Sarah sighed and went back to cooking. She was not looking forward to this talk. She wasn't 100% sure where it was going, but it couldn't be any place good. Chuck had called his family "her family, too." What was she supposed to make of that? She always felt like his family was her family, why did it seem more serious this time. Were they going to actually be family? Was Chuck going to propose? What would she say? Did she want to get married? These were all questions she would need to answer for herself within the next few minutes because the conversation was rapidly approaching.

Arwen finished packing and ran to the kitchen.

"Bye, Sarah," she said and kissed her mother on the cheek. Quick and simple though it was, it was another milestone.

"Oh, um, yeah, bye." Sarah could hardly get her words together. Arwen had just kissed her. It felt good to be loved like this, in this new way.

Sarah looked over at Chuck who was in the dining room setting the table. He looked so peaceful yet focused on his task. She loved that about him that he put his whole heart into everything he did. Like he put his whole heart into this relationship, even when she didn't have a whole heart to give. He always put himself out there with her, and sometimes she felt like she didn't give enough in return. She didn't feel like she could. Sarah Walker wasn't a woman who gave herself up for a man. She was a lone wolf, even with Chuck. She only put enough of herself in that she could still be in it, but left enough out that she could leave if things got rough. He would never hurt her, she knew that. She just wanted to have an out. Wait… no.

Sarah realized that she couldn't live without Chuck. She didn't want an out. She wanted to be with him forever, until death do they part. That could be sooner rather than later in their profession, but being with him, no matter how long, was what mattered to her. She was decided. Sarah wanted Chuck, forever.

"Dinner's ready," she said with the happiness in her voice that was filling her heart.

"Good, but I want to talk first."

Sarah left the kitchen and met Chuck on the living room couch.

"Sarah, what I was saying earlier about my family being your family, I meant it. I want you to feel like we can share everything, even relations." That wasn't really what he wanted to say, but he had to start slowly, not just jump into it.

"Of course your family is my family. I have felt like your sister was my sister pretty much since I met her. She's always there to talk to me or give me advice. And of course there is Arwen, who is our daughter. Chuck, is that really all you wanted to say? Because I kind of knew that already."

Sarah had a hopeful little girl in her voice. Maybe she had misread Chuck. Maybe he didn't want to marry her. It would be so embarrassing if she had gotten this wrong.

"No, that wasn't all. I'm just not sure where you are with this relationship. I mean, it took you awhile to warm to the idea of us being together. And then it took you awhile for you to warm to us moving in. And we haven't been living together that long. I just want to know, is this all you want?"

"Chuck, I can honestly say that up until a few minutes ago, I didn't know where I was or what I wanted. Living together has been so great, and so has being in a relationship with you. I definitely feel like we are supposed to be together."

"Do mean like we are supposed to be together right now, or for a long time?"

He was trying to push her into saying what he wanted her to say, he knew that. He had to be sure she wanted it, like Arwen had said. This couldn't just be him pushing her into doing something that she didn't want to do. She loved him and would do anything to make him happy, but this had to be for her and for him.

"I mean a long time. Maybe, possibly, forever."

"Are you saying that you would be open to staying with me forever?"

"I would say that I'm saying that," she said with a smile.

"Okay, then I would say that I'm open to that as well," he said smiling back.

It was then that Chuck pulled out a Tiffany's box and dropped to one knee in front of his super spy girlfriend. Sarah covered her face with her hand. She couldn't even believe what was happening right now.

"No, no, no. Take you hand away from your face. I need to see your eyes when I do this," Chuck said, gently pulling her hands down to his.

Then he opened the box and inside was the most glorious ring Sarah had ever seen. It was a three stone ring with a one carat diamond in the middle and a sapphire just to the left and right of the diamond. She loved sapphires because her dad always said her eyes looked like sapphires, and it was Chuck's birthstone.

"Sarah Walker, you are everything to me. I would drop my entire life to be with you. So here I am, down on one knee, looking kind of like a noob, asking you to be my wife. You are the person I want to see every morning and every night and all of that time in between. I promise to keep you as safe as I know how, and to love you always. Please, Sarah, will you marry me?"

Sarah was crying. This guy was perfect. He was sweet and caring and hot as hell. He could fix a computer and knock a guy out in one punch. And then there were his eyes. There was no question as to what her answer would be.

"Yes!"

Chuck started to smile, but wasn't able to finish as Sarah jump on him and kissed him until neither could breathe. When they pulled away, he slipped the ring on her finger.

"I can't believe I'm going to marry Sarah Walker."

"I can't believe I get to marry you, Chuck."

Chuck pounced atop his loving fiancée and began to kiss and caress her all over. Yep, it was a good thing Arwen would be over with Casey and Morgan. They were going to need the whole house for the whole night.

A/N: I hope you liked the new chapter. This will also serve as my Zachary Levi birthday fic, so happy birthday, Zac! He and I have the same birthstone. As a sidebar, that ring is the one I want to get when I get engaged. Please review, or I may never have the strength to continue writing.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: I'm so sorry to have kept everyone waiting for an update for so long, but life has been a bit crazy. I hope you enjoy the new chapter. I'm on break from school, so hopefully the updates will keep coming for the next month or so.

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Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck, Wii, or any of these characters. If Santa gave them to me for Christmas, I would gladly take them.

Arwen had to admit that it was definitely gross knowing what her parents were doing right now (mating like rabbits), but she was truly happy for them. They were going to be married. It was nice to think that maybe she had something to do with their happily ever after. I mean, she was the one who talked some sense into Chuck, right? Of course he must have known that he wanted to marry Sarah before, all he needed was a little nudge. That nudge nudged her right over to Casey's apartment where she wouldn't have to experience the noises of her parents' love-making marathon. It was here that she was beating the pants off of Morgan in a rousing game of Wii tennis.

"Oh, come on," shouted Morgan. "Best seven out of ten matches, please?"

"Morgan, it's only going to get worse for you," replied Arwen. "As we continue playing, you are only going to get more tired, and I will only find new ways to beat you."

Morgan had to admit that Chuck and Sarah's little girl was quite a fierce competitor. Much like her equally ferocious mother, she scared Morgan a little bit. Much like her nerdy father, she kicked Morgan's ass at any and all video games.

"You make a valid point, but I can't keep losing like this. Halo, maybe?"

"I will beat you at Halo, Morgan. I beat my dad a couple of times, you know."

"Shit." Morgan could almost never beat Chuck unless Chuck was so exhausted from a mission that he was mostly asleep while playing.

"That's right, so put down the controller. All hail the queen of virtual tennis!"

"Shit." That expletive came from the mouth of one John Casey. He was in the middle of a night of surveillance; luckily it was not surveillance of Bartowski and Walker doing the horizontal mambo. What he was seeing on the monitors was not much better, though.

"What is it, Casey?" asked Morgan.

"Jeff and Lester are trying to break into the Buy More. Probably after Big Mike's secret booze stash again."

"Who are Jeff and Lester?" asked Arwen.

"You do not want to know," replied Morgan.

"I'm going down to the store to stop this. If they get too far, a predator drone might come blow them to bits. I hate them, but they don't deserve to die for being alcoholics," said Casey.

At that moment they heard a woman's scream come from one of the apartments in the complex.

"Oh my gosh. What was that?" asked Arwen.

Casey perked up his ear, much like a dog on the hunt.

"That was Ellie. Morgan, you go get her, I'll go to the store to deal with the morons. Don't screw this up."

Morgan ran to the Awesome apartment. Arwen was close on his heels. As he bust through the front door, he saw Ellie and Awesome embracing.

"Guys, what is going on? Is everything okay?" asked Morgan.

"Of course. We just got some really good news," replied Awesome.

"Well, you gave us a heart attack," said Morgan.

"Sorry, Morgan, but I'M PREGNANT!" shouted Ellie.

"Ellie, congratulations! I'm going to have a little cousin," Arwen said, pushing past Morgan to reach her aunt.

All four of the ecstatic individuals embraced in what could only be called the most awesome of group hugs ever. Arwen was feeling so happy to be a part of this family. Sure, she had a couple of cousins, but they weren't really close and she never really saw them. They were all so much older than her, and she had nothing in common with them. This would be so much more fun, getting to play with a baby all of the time. Then she had a thought: would she get to see the baby born or would she be back with her adoptive parents and not allowed to visit here very much?

"We have to go tell Chuck and Sarah," said Ellie, breaking Arwen's sad thoughts.

Arwen and Morgan gave each other a look.

"I think it would be best not to, Ellie," said Arwen.

However, her aunt didn't hear her as Ellie was already halfway across the courtyard heading toward Chuck and Sarah's apartment. Morgan and Arwen started running after her but it was no use. Ellie opened the door to her brother's apartment (come on, dude, and lock your door) only to see something she never wanted to see: her naked brother having sex with his new fiancé. Sadly, because they were chasing after the pregnant woman, all three of her companions witnessed this horrid sight as well. Morgan, Arwen and Awesome as well as Chuck and Sarah stood slack-jawed and silent while Ellie screamed bloody murder once again. The four observers ran back to the Awesome apartment while the lovers went to slam the door to their apartment shut.

Back in the Awesome apartment, everyone sat in stunned silence. Arwen was the first to speak.

"I seriously tried to warn you, Ellie. You need to listen better. I'm going to need a lot more therapy to get that image out of my head."

"You're going to need therapy? That was my brother and his girlfriend I just saw."

"It's fiancé, actually."

"What?"

"That's right. My parents are getting married. It may seem unconventional to get a girl pregnant, have her give up the child, then get married, but we're anything but a normal family."

"Then I guess despite everything, like seeing my brother's naked ass, this is a pretty good evening."

In the Bartowski/ Walker/ Grimes apartment laughter was heard. The lovers were now covered with blankets.

"I can't believe your sister just walked in on us having sex."

"You're the super spy making sure I'm safe. Why didn't you remember to lock the door?"

Sarah gave Chuck a seductive look.

"It seems I was a little bit distracted, Mr. Bartowski."

"Well, there is a lot more distraction where that came from, future Mrs. Bartowski."

They smiled at each other. They were going to be married. Nothing could be better than this.

"Come on, let's get dressed and go apologize to our family," said Chuck, pulling Sarah into the bedroom.

A knock came on the Awesome front door. The Captain went to open it.

"And that is how we enter someone's home, Ellie," said Chuck walking in to his sister's apartment.

"I know, Chuck, I was just really excited."

"So, you heard about our engagement?"

"Yeah, I did, and I'm so happy for you guys, but that isn't why I was busting in."

"Then why did you?"

"I wanted to tell you guys that I'm pregnant. I'm going to have a baby, Chuck."

"Sis, I'm so happy for you. This has got to be the best night ever, except for that whole you seeing me having sex thing."

"Uh-huh, except for that it is super awesome!"

At the Buy More, Casey was dragging the second of two bodies into the storage cage.

"These losers make me want to shoot them every day. They're lucky these were just tranq darts. They'll wake up in the morning thinking they just passed out drunk, just like they do every other night."

As Casey walked back to the Vic, Jeff and Lester snored peacefully.

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A/N: If you review, I'll probably write more really soon.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: If you give me constructive criticism, I try to respond. So please, I welcome it.

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With the news of the Awesome pregnancy and the Walkertowski engagement things were in full swing in Echo Park. Chuck and Sarah decided it would be best if they got married by the end of the summer so that Arwen could definitely be a part of the wedding. The entire summer would be spent planning for this event along with planning for the birth of baby Awesome. Luckily, Ellie was only about 3 ½ months along at this point.

There wouldn't be too much to prepare for the baby until Awesome and Ellie found out the sex, but the wedding would be coming up very soon. The first step for Chuck and Sarah would be to pick out a date for their wedding.

"I'm thinking the 20th of August. How does that sound to you, Sarah?" asked Chuck.

"I really think it would be better to have the wedding on the 13th, Chuck. We said we wanted the wedding to be in the middle of the month. The 13th is closer to the middle," stated Sarah, confused at her fiancé's choice of date.

"But it's the 13th," stated Chuck plainly.

"Yeah, I know. What's the big deal?" asked Sarah, all the more inquisitively.

"The number 13 is unlucky. I don't want our wedding day to be unlucky," said Chuck as though it should be clear why he didn't pick the date.

"Are you really that superstitious? It's not even like it is Friday the 13th. It's a Saturday. Plus, superstitions are dumb," said Sarah, her voice full of condescension.

"You're dumb," pouted Chuck with his arms crossed, lip stuck out, and head down.

"That's real mature, Chuck. I suppose I'm rubber and you're glue, too," said Sarah, also crossing her arms. She knew she would win this. She always won.

"You don't have to tease me, you know. All you have to do to get your way is to bat your eyelashes and then give me a kiss," said Chuck, clearly admitting defeat.

Sarah responded just as Chuck requested. She looked Chuck dead in the eyes, batted her long, dark eyelashes, and then leaned in for a slow, sensual kiss. Chuck was left stunned.

"That will do, Miss Walker. We'll be married on Saturday, August 13th, 2011," finished Chuck.

The next thing on Chuck and Sarah's list was to find a bridal party to assist with all of the planning. This wedding would not be a large affair, but it would be coming together quite quickly. They would need all of the help they could get. Both Chuck and Sarah wanted to include their closest friends and most trusted allies.

"Here is what I'm thinking: Morgan will be my best man. Then for groomsmen I'll have Casey and Awesome," said Chuck.

"What, no Jeff and Lester?" joked Sarah.

"Sweetie, I know how much you love them, but there is just no room in the wedding party. They'll just play at the reception," retorted Chuck with sarcasm.

"Ugh, even worse. Or not. But, seriously Chuck, I was thinking Casey could walk me down the aisle." Sarah didn't really have a strong father figure in her life. Casey was the person who watched her back these past couple of years, and although he resisted at first, he had become a strong supporter of her relationship with Chuck. He once told her that her being with Chuck kept "the moron" out of his hair.

"Why can't your father do that?" Chuck wondered aloud.

"Chuck, we don't know where he is. I'm sure he doesn't want to come," Sarah said, the sadness evident in her voice.

"I'm sure he does want to come and support you on this special day. He loves you, Sarah. I'll find him… for you," Chuck said determinedly.

"You don't have to do that," replied Sarah.

"You are the love of my life. I would do anything for you," Chuck said, reaching for Sarah's hand and giving it a squeeze.

"Thank you, Chuck. Okay, that leaves my side of the bridal party. I was thinking Ellie and Beckman for bridesmaids!" Sarah said in a bubbly tone that sounded positively bridal.

"Are you joking?" questioned Chuck.

"No. They are the women that have supported me the most. They'll be perfect," said Sarah.

"You really shouldn't have a bridesmaid that has no first name," Chuck mocked, referring to the General.

"Fine. Then my bridesmaids will be Ellie and Diane," said a playful Sarah.

"Who is…? Sarah. Diane is Beckman. You can't trick me, you conversational wizard," said Chuck, poking Sarah on the nose.

"This is what I want. You said I could have whatever I want," Sarah said with a big smile.

"Then Ellie and Diane it is. Who is going to be your maid of honor?" asked Chuck.

"I want Arwen to be my maid of honor. She is the woman most special of all to me. Even though we got off on a rocky start, she is who I want standing right beside me as you and I say our vows," said Sarah, the honesty evident in her voice.

"Sarah, have I told you how perfect you are today?"

"No."

"Have I told you how much I love and adore you?"

"No."

"Sarah Walker, you are the most perfect woman I have ever met. I love and adore you more than I ever thought was possible," Chuck said while wrapping his arms around his fiancé and leaning his body in towards hers.

"Right back at you, stud," replied Sarah closing the space between them and sealing her words with a tender kiss.

At this moment, Arwen walked back into the apartment, having been at target practice with Casey.

"You guys seriously need to find a place that is a little more private to carry out your sex life. You realize that all of your friends live right here, right? And you never lock the door," said a disgusted Arwen.

Arwen's parents scoffed.

"We're not having sex, Arwen," said Sarah.

"She's right. Kissing is allowed. Sarah has opened my mind to the PDA," said Chuck, embracing Sarah tighter.

"How about I close it," said Arwen walking up to her father and smacking him in the forehead as though closing a door.

"Coulda had a V8," replied Arwen, walking into the kitchen to get some juice.

"ARWEN!" shouted Sarah.

Chuck just laughed it off while rubbing Sarah's back.

"Sarah, she just tapped me. It was a love tap."

"I don't care. We need to keep her violence in check," replied Sarah.

"What she did wasn't violence. What you are doing right now is violence. Why don't you calm down and tell her your good news."

Sarah took a deep breath. She realized that her emotions had been all over the place lately and that maybe her anger was a little bit over the top right now. She often felt unbalanced with all of the love and new feelings with the Bartowskis, feelings she had ignored for so many years. With Arwen added to the mix she seemed to be prone to outbursts. Sometimes she just snapped. Sarah took another deep breath and walked over to Arwen.

"Arwen, Chuck and I were just talking. We were deciding on our wedding party. I was wondering… well, what I wanted to ask was…" Sarah wasn't used to getting so flustered. "Arwen, will you be my maid of honor?"

Arwen set her juice glass down on the table and flung her arms around her mother, beaming.

"Of course I will. I'm just so happy you want me to be a part of this. Who's the best man? Who's going to walk you down the aisle? Will my grandparents be there?"

"Morgan is the best man, of course," replied Sarah. She didn't answer the other questions, the questions about her past. Chuck wanted to find her dad, which was great, but what about his mom and her mom? She couldn't even remember the last time she saw her mom. Chuck started to answer for her.

"Arwen," he began, "your granddad, my father, is dead. He died not all that long ago. As for my mom, she left when I was just a little kid. She up and disappeared. I've been trying to find her, but I haven't had much luck."

Sarah decided to chime in with her side of the story.

"Chuck has graciously offered to try and locate my father, a man we last saw about two years ago. My dad is not the best of guys, but he was there for me when I was pregnant with you and he is my dad after all. My mother is someone I never really knew. Dad says she was an alcoholic and that he decided it would be best if we got away from her. I think we ran away from her when I was about three years old."

Arwen had been sitting quietly this whole time, listening to the story of her fully dysfunctional family. No wonder her parents were so emotionally retarded at times. They came from crazy people.

"It doesn't matter if they come. What matters is that we have each other, right?" asked Arwen.

"Absolutely," said Chuck and Sarah in unison.

It was then that Casey walked in to the apartment not looking overly pleased.

"ARWEN! What have you been doing? I said you could come get some juice over here because all I had back at my place was whiskey and water. You been chatting instead?" growled Casey in one of the largest displays of vocal ability Chuck and Sarah had ever seen from the man.

"Uh, no," replied Arwen.

"No, what?" came back Casey.

"No, sir. I came to get some juice, but then Chuck and Sarah started talking to me. They were just revealing family stuff and being all open and emotional. These two, ugh, right?" said Arwen.

Casey softened to the youngster. He was beginning to see her as a very close niece.

"Oh, uh, yeah. They love sharing their lady feelings. Now, back to work. You're coming with me, young lady," said Casey, the gruffness returning to his demeanor.

Sarah nudged Chuck, reminding him that there was something he needed to say to Casey. Chuck knew that this might be painful but it was now or never.

"Casey, man, before you go, I need to ask you something," Chuck began.

"Ugh," Casey acquiesced via a grunt.

"Sarah and I were just deciding on our wedding party and I think it would be an honor if you could be a groomsman," said Chuck with trepidation. If Casey didn't like this, Chuck could end up with his head in a wall.

Casey paused and thought. Although not normally a pensive man, he did want to consider what Chuck's offer meant. Chuck saw him as a close friend, a comrade, maybe even someone to look up to. Yeah, the dork was not his favorite person… at first, but Casey had come to realize that Chuck wasn't totally useless. Casey understood that not only were the three of them (Chuck, Sarah, and Casey) working colleagues, but Casey was also instrumental in getting the couple together. All of his subtle hints and jabs, he thought, led to them finally getting together. It was selfish, of course. He just couldn't stand the tension anymore.

"I would be honored to stand by your side, Chuck. You're going to need someone with a strong hand to make sure you don't back out. No one jilts Sarah Walker," responded Casey.

Sarah smiled. She always knew Casey had a soft spot for her.

"Alright, that's enough lovey-dovey talk for today. Arwen, let's get going," said Casey, taking the teenager by the wrist and pulling her out of the apartment.

Once Arwen and Casey had left, Chuck and Sarah recognized that they had to talk to the rest of the wedding party.

"Who do you think we should talk to first?" asked Sarah.

"Ellie and Awesome," they ended up saying in unison, Sarah realizing that she could easily answer her own question.

When they were granted admission into the Awesome apartment they knew that this would be an easy conversation. Ellie and Devon were family and they would probably even expect to be a part of the wedding.

"Ellie, you are like my sister. You are so warm and loving. You give such great advice and I definitely look to you as a model woman and mother. I would love it if you could be one of my bridesmaids," said Sarah.

Ellie began to scream. Then she jumped up from the couch where they all had been sitting and jumped and hugged Sarah at the same time. Chuck had never seen such terror in Sarah's eyes.

"I guess that means you'll do it?" asked Sarah.

"Of course I will! This is going to be so much fun, planning your wedding. I want you to have a perfect day, and I'm so happy to help. I want you to have everything your own way, of course. I know what it's like to have someone take over your wedding. I'm just so happy!" exclaimed Ellie.

The women retired into Ellie's bedroom to look at old wedding magazines leaving Chuck and Devon alone in the living room.

"Awesome… Devon… my bro, you are my brother and I need to have you standing up at the altar with me, man. Will you be one of my groomsmen?" asked Chuck.

"Come on, bro. You know I will. Up top," said Awesome lifting his arm for a high five.

Chuck responded by slapping his own hand against Devon's outstretched one.

"Awesome," said Devon.

Sarah and Ellie walked back into the living room.

"Okay, Sarah, we have some more people to see. Wanna go see Morgan. I think he's over at Casey's," Chuck said.

"Sure thing, sweetie," Sarah replied.

When they got to Casey's, Morgan was just sitting there playing Xbox quietly. Chuck and Sarah both knew he would be so excited.

"Hey, buddy," said Chuck tapping his furry friend on the shoulder.

"Oh, hey, Chuck. Just playing a little Mass Effect 2," said Morgan standing up. "What's up?"

"Morgan, we just came by because I wanted to see if you would be my best man? You are the perfect guy for the job because you have known me forever and I can trust you. You are my best friend and now I need you to be my best man," said Chuck.

Morgan grabbed his friend's shoulder with one hand and covered his mouth in shock with the other.

"Dude, I am so excited. I will totally do this," responded Morgan. "Give me a hug, Chuck. You're growing up!"

The two men hugged and Sarah looked on. Hopefully this bromance wouldn't get in the way of her marriage. Chuck would always be hers.

"I really don't want to break up this love fest," began Sarah, "but there is one more person we need to contact. It's not going to be pleasant."

Chuck pulled away from Morgan.

"Oh no. It has to be done, but I wish you could do it alone. She was your choice by the way," stated Chuck.

"But, Chuck, she doesn't even know we're engaged yet," replied Sarah.

"I'll bet she does. She knows everything," Chuck retorted.

Chuck and Sarah returned to their apartment where they would contact General Beckman. Chuck turned to Sarah.

"You can still change your mind about her being a bridesmaid, you know? We can have Alex do it," said Chuck nervously.

"No. This is what I want. I think she is going to freak out more about the engagement than the bridesmaid thing," said Sarah.

Sarah pulled up Beckman on the living room television for a video conference.

"Chuck, Sarah, I suppose there is something you need to tell me," Beckman stated plainly.

"I told you she knows," whispered Chuck to Sarah.

Sarah kicked Chuck in the shin, and Chuck winced. She was so violent. And strong.

"Yes, General. As you most likely already know, Chuck and I are engaged to be married. He asked me and I accepted," Sarah said in her most professional agent voice.

"And you believe that this is safe? Do you really think that the Intersect can remain protected even if you two are married?" asked Beckman.

"Yes, I do, ma'am," replied Sarah.

"As do I. That is why I've been waiting for a long time for you two to come to your senses and get married," said Beckman with a smirk.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" asked Chuck.

"Yes, Bartowski, I've wanted you two to get married. Do you remember the Turners? I was trying to send you signals. I'm glad you have finally wised up," said Beckman.

"Thank you, General. We appreciate your support," said Chuck with a smile.

"If that is all, I have to get back to work," said the General reaching for the button to disconnect the call.

"Wait, General," cut in Sarah quickly. "There was one more thing we… I needed to ask you."

"Well…?" started Beckman.

"General Beckman… Diane," Sarah began with caution. Beckman squinted. "I would really be quite honored if you would be a bridesmaid in my wedding."

Beckman was definitely giving Sarah the stink eye.

"Agent Walker, if you use my Christian name without permission ever again you will be sorry you were ever born. But to answer your question, I would be happy to stand up with you. I have a special place in my heart for you two. Beckman out," said Beckman without another word.

Sarah wrapped her arms around Chuck's neck.

"Finally, that is all done with," said Sarah.

"Now we have some alone time. Or I can start planning my bachelor party," joked Chuck.

"Only if I can be your stripper," Sarah retorted.

"Show me your best moves."

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A/N: Merry Christmas eve! The best thing you could get me was some reviews.


	16. Chapter 16

Love me, hate me, say what you want about me (Britney Spears quote), but I'm back baby. I know it took me a long time to update, but I needed this to be right. Your reward is that it is my longest chapter to date. I hope you enjoy what I've done here. Fluffyness abounds.

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While Chuck much appreciated the stripper inside Sarah Walker and was content to not have a bachelor party, Morgan and Devon would have none of his silly protestations. They insisted it was a man's birthright to have one last hurrah before tying the knot, even if it was to a woman as fabulous as Sarah Walker. In the midst of planning a wedding and a bachelor party Chuck and Morgan unfortunately still had to work shifts at the Buy More, Chuck because he had a wife to support soon and Morgan because he really was looking forward to having his own place one day. Devon, on his day off, had come to visit BuyMoria and work out the details of the bachelor party.

"You know, dude, it doesn't have to be strippers. There are so many intense things we can do to celebrate the end of your bachelorhood. I know some awesome places for white water rafting. And I really thing that rafting is almost like a metaphor for marriage. It's like when…" Awesome began, but was cut off.

"Wait a second there, Devon. You know I am not as into the whole adventure sports thing as you are. Morgan, can't you think of anything we could do as a last hurrah?" replied Chuck.

"I have been on it for a while, my man. I got us all tickets to… wait for it… COMIC CON! And how perfect is it that that is where you and Sarah actually met. You can give me my award for best ever best man now," announced Morgan, with a smile bigger than his beard.

When he heard this Chuck jumped on to his little buddy and gave him a bear hug. Not only was going to SDCC the most epic thing of all time, but it also had special meaning for him and Sarah. Of course, Sarah wouldn't be there, but still. He could have fond memories. Maybe he could even revisit the beach where Arwen was conceived.

"So who exactly did you get tickets for, Morgan?" asked Chuck.

"Well, of course you, me, and Devon. Also Casey," Morgan replied, mumbling the last bit about Casey. He wanted his new pal to be involved even though he wasn't a groomsman. The man would be walking Sarah down the aisle, after all.

"Casey, seriously? He'll probably kill everyone before the weekend is over. Just hope it isn't you or me. I don't want Devon to have to explain to Sarah why we are returning home from my bachelor party in body bags," Chuck explained.

When Morgan got back to the apartment he shared with John Casey he informed him of the plans for the bachelor party. The four men would be driving to San Diego for a weekend of boozing, schmoozing, and nerdy epicness! To Morgan, this seemed like the most perfect vacation a man could ask for. To Casey, this was not the most appealing offer.

"You expect me to come with you to this freak fest? And you want me to not kill anyone? You must be joking, Grimes."

"Hear me out, Casey. There will be video games there, not just comics. You can play lots of video games where you shoot and kill people. If that is all you want to do, then that's great. I really just want you to come along for Chuck. You are one of his very best friends, and you mean so much to him and Sarah. You are part of this family, man, and it wouldn't be the same without you."

Casey grunted.

"I guess so. I'll pack my bags."

With all the men on board, they loaded up Devon's Sienna and hit the road. Even though Casey did not appreciate being seen in this "mom mobile", Devon explained to him, in what seemed to be some sort of product placement ad for Toyota, that this van was the top of the line and stylish.

When they finally arrived at the W hotel in San Diego, the Captain of all that is Awesome had a surprise waiting for them.

"Chuck, you and your buddies here are just so awesome, I thought I would treat you all this weekend. I got us a penthouse suite here at the hotel. Amazing views and tons of space. Don't want to muck up your mojo, John."

"Devon, you really didn't have to do that. We can all chip in. We have jobs," replied Chuck. He didn't want his brother-in-law feeling like he was being taken advantage of. They may not be the wealthiest of guys, but they did alright. It would be a stretch on the budget to chip in, but it was only fair.

"Nonsense, bro. This is your weekend and the hotel was my idea. It is my pleasure, honestly. Now let's get to partying!"

Devon pulled out two bottle of Grey Goose and a case of Red Bull and started mixing the drinks, but first Casey had them all drink a bit of Johnny Walker because, as he so gently put it, "that is what real men drink, not that girly Bull shit." When they were good and buzzed, they decided to spend their first night out clubbing. There really wasn't too much going on over at the Con, and all of the guys except Chuck wanted to get some lady interaction going on at some point during the weekend. Whenever Chuck got around women all he could think about was how much he missed Sarah and what was she doing and how would she feel if she knew all of these women were hitting on them. Most of them were not even creative or subtle. Chuck found the come-ons to be a little much and decided to take a break from the dance floor. While he was getting a drink at the bar, the cheesy pick-up lines continued.

"Hey, handsome," one said. "So apart from being incredibly sexy, what do you do for a living?"

Chuck sighed.

"Really? That is all you've got. My fiancée is the hottest, most dangerous woman in the world and you can up to me with that? Sorry, sweetheart, but go find someone else to bother. I'm completely taken."

It was then that Chuck received a text message from Sarah:

_Hope you're having fun. You know it will be the last you ever have. Lol! I love you._

With that, Chuck was reenergized. He went back out on the dance floor to party the night away with his best buddies. The night ended with all of them back at their hotel passed out drunk in the bed, on the floor, and in the tub. When Chuck awoke the next morning he knew it had been a successful night of partying by the hangover that plagued him. However, he knew that the best was yet to come. Today they would head over to SDCC and get the real party started.

As they entered the convention center a cacophony of sounds greeted their ears. The laughter of grown men, gleeful at the sight of rare comic books. The pounding of gunfire from multiple gaming stations. The roar of a man dressed as Chewbacca. This was the bachelor party a nerd could only dream of, and Chuck was living it with his best pals. Over the weekend they spent time meeting celebrities, debating with other nerds, and just getting to immerse themselves in the nerdolution of America.

All Chuck could think was, "I wish Sarah were here with me."

0000000000000000000

When Sarah heard about the bachelor party, she was thrilled for Chuck. She knew he had been wanting to go. Even though she wished it was something they could share, she had a lot of wedding planning still to get done at home. She hadn't even been dress shopping yet. Part of her said she was holding back because there were other more important things to deal with first, like invitations and venue, but another part of her knew it was because she wished it was something she could do with her mother. Of course, Sarah really hadn't known her mother, but every girl dream of picking out their wedding dress with their mother. Sarah may not have been the most traditional girl in the world, but she was still a girl.

Sarah kissed Chuck goodbye, and the boys were off to the Con. She was now home alone. Most women wanted to be free of their pesky men during the wedding planning process, but Sarah did not. She wanted Chuck right by her side because he was so much better at this stuff than her. He was also the love of her life. She currently felt like a piece of her was missing.

Not wanting her friend to wallow in self-pity, Ellie headed over to Casa Walkertowski with a surprise for the bride-to-be.

"Hi, Sarah. What are you up to?"

"Oh, you know. Just working on picking out flowers. Do you think gardenias will go with the venue we've chosen?"

"Gardenias go with everything, especially when they are your favorite flower. Now, I have a surprise for you."

Sarah was intrigued. Surprises were not always the best thing for spies. They were taught to always see the unexpected coming, but Sarah could not guess what this surprise could be. She was getting soft.

"I feel so bad about Chuck leaving you here, so I planned a little trip for us as well. We'll be going to New York City for your bachelorette party/ vacation/ wedding dress shopping extravaganza!" Ellie screamed.

"Oh my gosh, Ellie. That is so sweet! Who is we?"

"You, me, and Arwen, of course. We'll be flying there, first class, and staying in the Casablanca Hotel in Times Square! It's just going to be a fun long weekend with girly stuff, relaxing, and of course shopping. I got us an appointment at Kleinfeld, so you'll definitely find a dress. I know you've been putting it off. No more of that, okay?"

Sarah was super excited about all of this. She hadn't been to New York in ages. Kleinfeld was probably going to be her favorite part. She loved watching "Say Yes to the Dress" late at night when Chuck wasn't up, even if she'd never tell anyone. It was her guilty pleasure. Now she would get to experience it for herself.

When Arwen finally woke up, late as usual, and found out about the trip she started jumping up and down and hugging her Aunt Ellie. She had never been to New York, ever, and was so excited to see all of the sites.

The next day, all three ladies hopped on a plane and headed across the country. Ellie had hired a limo to pick them up at JFK, and they were whisked to their hotel. Sarah was happy she didn't have to think about anything because if she did have to think she would be drawn to thoughts of how she wished Chuck were by her side to share this experience. When she started feeling like that, she knew she sounded like a moody teenage girl, all sick with puppy love. Sarah Walker was not any of those things. She was a strong, independent woman. And she focused on that. And how happy she was to be taking this vacation.

As they entered the hotel and went upstairs to their room, Sarah could only think this was a dream. Here she was, preparing for marriage to the most amazing man she had ever met, and she had met a lot of men in her time. Every time she thought about what was going to happen, that she would marry Chuck Bartowski, she got massive butterflies in her stomach. She almost felt like she would be able to fly. There was nothing she couldn't do with him by her side. He would be her partner in life always, now. It was almost too much happiness for one person to bear. As they entered their hotel suite, Sarah was glad to have her favorite ladies by her side.

Arwen was also beside her self. She had this great new family, in addition to the one she had back at home. There was so much love in her life that it was hard for her to continuously hold on to the anger she felt from being abandoned by Sarah at birth. In reality she wasn't abandoned; she was lovingly placed into the arms of people who could love and care for her. Sarah still loved her. That much was becoming very clear. As Arwen stood in this beautiful hotel room with her birth mother, who was bustling about with Ellie getting settled in, it was obvious that they had this deep connection. It was deeper than words, something very obvious in the fact that they never said much to each other.

Ellie's voice pulled Arwen out of her deep thought.

"Great. Now that we're settled in, I thought we could take a tour around the city. It may seem cheesy, but we most definitely have to hit all of the really touristy spots. That is the best way to start a vacation!"

The three ladies left their hotel and started their exploration of the city where the hotel was, in Times Square. The lights, sounds, and people were almost too much for them. From there they took a short stroll through Broadway, headed over to Central Park, and fetched a cab to the Circle Line tours. They made sure to see the Statue of Liberty because no NYC trip would be complete without it. Monuments were important to them as well as museums, so they saw the Chrysler Building, the Empire State Building, and the Natural History Museum. As their day drew to a close, they headed to Ellen's Stardust Diner for dinner (and a mini show). After their super long day, they had a deep and restful sleep, something they would need for dress shopping the next day.

(The next morning…) Their appointment at Kleinfeld was at 11am, so the three friends were able to sleep in just enough for them to feel well rested when they awoke. Heading to the store, Sarah couldn't help but feel a slight sense of dread in the pit of her stomach. She had very particular taste and knew Ellie was very overzealous. Arwen on the other hand seemed like the girl who would hate everything she tried on. This was going to be an arduous task, finding a dress. As they entered the store, Sarah was overwhelmed by the sight of all the white dresses. She was right: this was going to be hard.

Sarah explained to the consultant that she wanted simple. She didn't want a lot of beading, if there was any. The dress had to be ivory. Nothing too modern, lacy, or poofy. Her requirements didn't seem all that specific, but what she was searching for was a feeling. Of course, she could have married Chuck in her birthday suit and she wouldn't care. This was for him. He would care what she was wearing. Sarah couldn't wait to see his face as she walked down the aisle. It had to be perfect for him.

She must have tried on 15 dresses. It was all way too much. This one was too shiny. That one made her look like a freaking Disney princess. This other one impeded her movement to such an extent that she couldn't walk out of the dressing room. After nearly two hours in the store, Sarah was close to giving up hope. Ellie and Arwen weren't really giving her the support she needed. She didn't even want to be doing this.

"Guys, I'm done. Seriously. All of these dresses have been hideous on me. I can't take it anymore. I CAN'T TAKE IT!" she screamed, clearly freaking out the entire store with her temper tantrum.

"Please, Sarah, one more. Arwen and I found something we think you'll like," Ellie said, trying to persuade her sister-in-law to-be.

"Well, if you two agreed, then I'll give it a shot."

Sarah marched back into the dressing room to try on the last dress. On the hanger it definitely caught her eye. Simple yet intriguing. Modern yet timeless. As she slipped on the Badgley Mischka creation she was rendered speechless. It was an ivory dress with a sweetheart neckline, slight empire waist, and A-line skirt. This was it. This was the dress.

"Oh my goodness," Arwen and Ellie exclaimed in unison.

"Sarah, you are a vision. This is so much better than either one of my wedding dresses. I'm so jealous!" Ellie said with tears in her eyes.

Even Arwen was choked up.

"Sarah, you look beautiful." Arwen was a girl of few words, much like her mother.

Sarah wrapped the purchase up right there. This was the dress Sarah Walker would marry Chuck Bartowski in.

Later that night, Arwen was asleep in bed and Sarah and Ellie were down at the hotel bar.

"Sarah, I have one more surprise for you," Ellie said, with a mischievous grin and a twinkle in her eye. "We're going on a little adventure tonight, and don't worry because I left a note for Arwen. She knows where we're going."

Ellie got them a cab and gave the cabbie the address. Sarah, once again, was not so into this whole surprise thing. As they pulled up to a nondescript building, Sarah still had no idea what she was in for tonight. But when they entered she was speechless for the second time that day. Now, it was for a totally different reason. They were at a strip club, surrounded my male strippers. Sarah had to text Chuck as Ellie pulled her up to a seat near the dance floor.

_Please rescue me from your sister. She is clearly insane._

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Reviews, por favor. This is your chance to berate me for taking a million years to update the story.


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